Iranian, Saudi FMs to meet during Ramadan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers agreed during a phone call to set a meeting before the end of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said on Monday.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan al-Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, held a phone call and discussed “a number of common issues” in light of the recent deal to restore ties. 

The call was focused around “the restoration of full bilateral ties and diplomatic relations”, according to Iranian state media.

“The ministers also agreed on holding a bilateral meeting between them during the ongoing month of Ramadan”, the Saudi foreign ministry statement read. The holy month of Ramadan will be over at the end of April.

The exact date and location of the upcoming meeting were not revealed.

The meeting is set to amend and restore the ties that were severed seven years ago, and marks a milestone in the bilateral reconciliation deal.

Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a China-brokered reconciliation deal on March 11, set to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries, with their embassies expected to open within two months.

The Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran have had rocky relations since 1979, when Shiite revolutionaries came to power in Iran and pledged to export their revolution to the world, including Gulf countries.

Diplomatic ties were cut in 2016 when Iranian protestors attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in retaliation to the Sunni kingdom's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Both nations have also supported opposing forces in several conflict zones across the region, most notably in Yemen, where Iran backs the Houthi rebels while Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition supporting the government.

By Azhi Rasul