The Iranian embassy in Saudi Arabia will open on Tuesday, June 6. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Monday, citing sources in the kingdom.
"The Iranian embassy in Riyadh will open on Tuesday at 6 p.m. local time attended by the Islamic republic's new ambassador," the agency quoted a Saudi diplomat as saying. According to Agence France-Presse, Alireza Enayati will be the Iranian ambassador to the kingdom, as planned.
Iranian and Saudi officials have not yet commented on the information.
Enayati's appointment as Iran's diplomatic representative in Riyadh became known on May 22 this year. Previously, the official served as the Islamic Republic's diplomatic representative in Kuwait, as well as assistant to the foreign minister and director general for the Persian Gulf in the Iranian foreign ministry.
On March 10, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies within two months. Representatives of the two countries held several days of talks in Beijing, which resulted in a trilateral statement. It notes that the countries are committed to the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs and plan to resume cooperation in trade, economy, culture, science and technology.
Relations between Riyadh and Tehran deteriorated in March 2015 with the start of the Saudi-led coalition military operation in Yemen against the Ansar Allah (Houthis) movement. In January 2016, after the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad were attacked by crowds of protesters outraged by the execution in Riyadh of Shiite preacher Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, the kingdom broke off diplomatic relations with Iran.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: B.alotaby/Creative Commons 4.0
Based on materials from TASS