Opening an embassy is still on the agenda while Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister is in Iran

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has arrived in Tehran as Iran and the kingdom continue to develop their relations after restoring formal diplomatic ties in March.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian welcomed his Saudi counterpart ahead of bilateral talks and a press conference scheduled for later on Saturday.

After his meeting with his counterpart, the Saudi minister was also reportedly scheduled to meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who has just completed a tour of Latin America.

THEY MET AT THE BRICS

Amirabdollahian and bin Farhan had last met in early June in South Africa on the sidelines of a meeting of BRICS, the economic bloc consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The meeting was the first visit by a Saudi official to Tehran since 2016, when Riyadh cut diplomatic ties after executing a Shiite leader and attacking Iranian diplomatic missions.

EMBASSIES REOPEN

The leaders of Saudi Arabia and Iran met in China on March 10 and agreed to reopen their embassies within two months under an agreement signed in Beijing.  

Iran reopened its embassy in Riyadh on June 6, followed by its consulate general in Jeddah and its mission to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) a day later.

The Iranian embassy was inaugurated by Alireza Bigdeli, a deputy foreign minister for consular affairs, who said "We are witnessing the opening of a new chapter in bilateral and regional relations."

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Tehran has been named, but the name has not yet been made public. It is unclear when the Saudi embassy will reopen.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that a Saudi team has been in Tehran for weeks and that both sides are working to officially reopen the embassy premises.

Source: Al Jazeera