In a move that indicates the possibility of “progress” in relations with Saudi Arabia, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian announced that his country had been informed of Saudi Arabia’s approval to move the dialogue between the two feuding countries from the security level to the political one.
The Iranian minister, who was speaking on state television, indicated that progress had been made in the past five rounds that took place with the Saudis, “mainly on the security level.”
Abdollahian said that last week, Tehran received a message from Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein that the Saudi side was ready to move the talks to the political and public level.
These statements come days after an Arabic-language tweet posted by the Iranian minister on his Twitter account, in which he said, “Iran is tightening the hand extended towards it, and is moving towards consolidating relations with its neighbors.”
Iran tightens the hand extended towards it and proceeds towards consolidating relations with its neighbors within the framework of giving priority to neighbors in its foreign policy. It also always emphasizes the responsibility of the people of the region to establish security and stability and encourages constructive and fruitful cooperation for the sake of the region’s prosperity and comprehensive economic development.
— H. Amirabdollahian (@Amirabdolahian) July 19, 2022
Abdullahian’s comment came just days after statements by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in a press conference on the sidelines of the Jeddah Security and Development Summit, in which he said that the Kingdom’s hand is “outstretched to Iran,” adding that “talks with Iran are positive, but have not reached results so far.”
Saudi Arabia did not issue any comment regarding Abdollahian’s recent statements, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond until the hour of this report’s publication to a request for comment sent by Al Hurra website via e-mail.
Saudi political researcher Ahmed Al-Shehri believes that Iran should adhere to a set of “main demands” before talking about the return of relations with Saudi Arabia.
Al-Shehri says in an interview with Al-Hurra website that “there are files that Iran must adhere to, for example to get out of Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and stop threats related to navigation in the Gulf, Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea.”
Al-Shehri adds that “these are entitlements that Tehran must adhere to so that it can be said that it has become part of the system.”
Al-Shehri continues: “I do not think that the previous security dialogues witnessed progress, given that they did not witness clear results,” noting that “Iran wants the return of relations free of charge and without any return.”
The two countries held five rounds of dialogue in Baghdad, starting last year. The last round was held in April, and was attended by officials in the Secretariat of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council and the Saudi Intelligence Presidency, according to press reports.
Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran in January 2016, after its embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad were attacked by protesters over Riyadh’s execution of the Saudi opposition Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
In this context, Iranian political analyst Hussain Roiran believes that the move of dialogues from the security side to the political “is important because this means that the first topic in the political dialogue will be the establishment of relations and the exchange of ambassadors.”
Roweran added to Al-Hurra that “the presence of communication channels between the two parties makes the dialogues faster and easier, without mediation and directly.”
With regard to the Saudi demands, Royran points out that the demand for guarantees from any party is met by a demand for the same thing from the other party, and this would complicate the dialogues.
He continues, “The importance today is the return of relations, which is the basis for opening the way for future dialogue and understandings.”
The Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia are the two most prominent regional powers in the Gulf, and they are on opposite sides in most regional files, most notably the conflict in Yemen, where Riyadh leads a military coalition in support of the internationally recognized government, and accuses Tehran of supporting the Houthi rebels who control large areas in the north of the country, most notably Sanaa.
Likewise, Saudi Arabia is concerned about Iran’s regional influence and accuses it of “interfering” in Arab countries such as Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, and is apprehensive about its nuclear program and missile capabilities.
Tensions escalated between the two countries in 2019 after an attack on Saudi oil facilities that Riyadh blamed on Iran, a charge Tehran denies. Tensions remain high in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is also fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
Al-Shehri believes that “the security and political tracks in the dialogues with Tehran have requirements and entitlements, and the Iranian government must deal with them positively and change its behavior in the region if it wants good relations with Saudi Arabia.”
Al-Shehri points out that “there are many files still pending with Tehran, the most important of which is its presence in the Arab countries,” adding, “Iran must respect the sovereignty of states and stop funding and supporting militias in the region.”
Last April, Iran confirmed that the fifth round of dialogue with Saudi Arabia was “serious and positive”, according to a spokesman for its Foreign Ministry, who indicated that raising the level of talks might lead to faster progress.
About a month later, the Iranian foreign minister announced that an agreement had been reached with Saudi Arabia to hold bilateral meetings at the level of foreign ministers or diplomats in the foreign ministry on neutral territory,” without adding further details.