Saudi Arabia & Iran may re-establish relations

Iraq, (rt.com), 29 September) -Riyadh and Tehran may soon formally resume relations severed in 2016. A report said officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran had met this week. The series of contacts were reportedly mediated by the Iraqi government.

‘Axios’ reported on Wednesday, Saudi and Iranian officials met in Baghdad this week, citing Iraqi sources. The agenda was “dominated by efforts to repair the bilateral relationship and regional issues concerning both sides,” according to the US outlet.

Saudi Arabia broke off relations with Iran in January 2016, after protests in Tehran over the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a dissident Shia cleric.

This week’s meeting was reportedly the fourth in a series that began in August, thanks to the efforts of Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the prime minister of Iraq. A personal friend of the Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, al-Kadhimi apparently reached out to Tehran following the Iranian presidential election, and hosted a regional meeting in Baghdad that included Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates as well. Bilateral contacts followed.