China brokers deal for Iran and Saudi Arabia to resume diplomatic relations

Iran and Saudi Arabia are to resume diplomatic relations, the two countries announced in a joint statement on Friday, in a diplomatic coup for China, which brokered the agreement.

The agreement to restore ties within two months was reached after four days of meetings in Beijing between the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and his Saudi counterpart Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban, the two countries said in a joint communique with China.

The deal represents a major diplomatic coup for Beijing as the United States and the West pivots away from the Middle East.

“This is a big deal,” said Michael Stephens, an associate fellow at RUSI. “Not because Saudi and Iran have patched things up… but because the US was nowhere near it. Shifts are happening very, very fast.”

The deal comes as diplomats are exerting efforts to end the civil war in Yemen where Iran supports the Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia supports the exiled government in Aden.

Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in 2016 after protesters attacked its diplomatic posts in Iran following Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr.

After the United States unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018, Tehran embarked on an increased programme of uranium enrichment, increasing tensions across the region as Israel and Saudi Arabia warned of the threat of a nuclear armed Islamic republic.

Tensions have since remained high between the arch rivals – with Riyadh representing the most powerful Sunni state in the region and Tehran the biggest Shiite power – with a devastating attack on the heart of Saudi oil production attributed to Tehran.

The September 2019 drone attack on the Saudi Aramco facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia temporarily halved the kingdom’s oil production. While Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed the attack, Saudi Arabia, the United States and the UK said Iran bore ultimate responsibility.

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The two states now wish to put such incidents behind them, the joint statement suggested with its boilerplate language on brotherly ties and pledges to respect sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs of state.

The announcement comes a day after reports that Saudi Arabia is seeking security guarantees from the United States as well as support to develop its nuclear programme in return for Riyadh agreeing to establish ties with Israel.

Washington has been pursuing Arab states to normalise relations with Israel in the hopes of creating a regional bloc to constrain Iran.

Original News : https://news.yahoo.com/china-brokers-deal-iran-saudi-151650290.html