The Diplomat
With the attendance of Iranian Ambassador to Spain Hassan Ghashghavi at the iftar dinner hosted by his Saudi counterpart Azzam Abdelkarim Algain at his official residence, the two diplomats staged the restoration of their diplomatic relations and underlined the importance of fostering them for the entire region.
In the meeting, diplomatic sources told The Diplomat, the two ambassadors discussed the mutual invitation extended by King Salman and President Ebrahim Raisi to visit each other’s capitals. They also discussed the upcoming meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers and the reopening of the embassies in Tehran and Riyadh, which will take place after the month of Ramadan, which will end on Friday, April 21.
The Iranian ambassador told The Diplomat that, during the dinner, he “conveyed his happiness to the Saudi ambassador for meeting him in the best place, in a friendly country such as Spain; in the neighborhood of La Moraleja, where both are neighbors; and also at the best time, in the holy month of Ramadan”.
The Iranian ambassador shared a lively conversation with all the Arab ambassadors, as well as the last prayer of the day, in which he was next to his Saudi counterpart.
The agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran will lead, as announced days ago by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhanbin Abdullah, “to the resumption of political relations, being a proof of the common desire to resolve differences through communication and dialogue by peaceful means and diplomatic tools.”
The dinner, held on Monday, was attended by almost all the ambassadors of Muslim countries. Among them, in addition to most of the representatives of Arab countries, were also those of Indonesia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, among others.
Representing the Spanish Government was the Director General for the Maghreb, Mediterranean and Middle East, Alberto José Ucelay. Representatives of the main political parties and companies with economic and professional interests in Saudi Arabia also attended.
Tehran and Riyadh agreed to restore their bilateral diplomatic relations on March 10, after four days of talks in Beijing led by the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, and Saudi Arabia’s National Security Advisor, Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban. They also agreed to “reopen their embassies and missions within no more than two months“, according to a statement issued by Iran, Saudi Arabia and China.
Saudi Arabia and Iran severed diplomatic relations in January 2016, following an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in response to the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by authorities in Riyadh.
