Iran’s embassy in Saudi Arabia reopens after seven years

Iran’s embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh reopened on Tuesday after seven years.

Footage aired by al-Hadath TV, a sister channel of Al Arabiya, showed the Iranian flag being raised outside the embassy building in Riyadh, accompanied by the playing of the Iranian national anthem.

The embassy’s reopening comes after a Chinese-brokered agreement that was reached in March between Saudi Arabia and Iran, aimed at reestablishing diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh following a seven-year period without any formal ties.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in 2016 following an attack by pro-regime protesters on its embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad.

State-affiliated Iranian media reported last month that Tehran had appointed Alireza Enayati, a veteran diplomat with extensive experience in Gulf affairs as its new ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has yet to confirm the reported appointment.

Enayati served as Tehran’s ambassador to Kuwait from 2014 to 2019. Prior to his ambassadorial post, he was the director-general of Gulf affairs at the Iranian foreign ministry. He resumed this role in 2019 and has continued in that capacity since then, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Saudi Arabia has not yet said when it will reopen its embassy in Tehran or who its envoy to the Islamic Republic will be.