Iran’s embassy in Saudi Arabia will reopen on Tuesday after a seven-year hiatus, according to Tehran and a diplomatic source, completing a March reconciliation pact negotiated by China.
Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northern city of Mashhad were stormed during protests over the death of Shia preacher Nimr al-Nimr by Riyadh.
Iran’s diplomatic mission, which was expelled by Saudi authorities, will reopen under the supervision of Alireza Enayati, a former ambassador to Kuwait.
In a statement issued Monday, Nasser Kanani, spokesman for Tehran’s foreign ministry, confirmed prior allegations made by a diplomatic source in Riyadh.
Iran’s embassy in Riyadh, consulate in Jeddah, and representative office to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will “reopen officially on Tuesday and Wednesday,” according to Kanani.
The ceremony, according to the diplomatic source, “will take place on Tuesday at 600pm local time (1500 GMT) with the presence of the newly appointed Iranian ambassador” to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has yet to announce when it will reopen its embassy in Tehran or who it would choose as ambassador.
Last month, Iranian media reported that Enayati had been appointed as the Islamic Republic’s Saudi envoy.
According to Iranian media, he formerly worked as an assistant to the foreign minister and as the director general of Gulf affairs at the foreign ministry.
On March 10, after years of animosity, the two Middle Eastern heavyweights inked an unexpected reconciliation accord in China.
Since then, Saudi Arabia has reestablished ties with Tehran’s ally Syria and increased its peace efforts in Yemen, where it has led a military coalition against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels for years.
Before repairing relations, Iran and Saudi Arabia have supported opposite groups in crisis zones across the Middle East for years.
