Iran appointed diplomat and foreign ministry official Alireza Enayati as its new ambassador to Saudi Arabia on Monday, May 22. The appointment comes on the heels of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two regional powers. Prior to his appointment, Enayati had served as the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait from 2014 to 2019. He had also previously served as an aide to the Iranian foreign minister and as the director general of the Persian Gulf department in the Ministry. Enayati will assume his role at the Iranian embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The two regional powers—at loggerheads for the last seven years after Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr—officially re-established diplomatic relations after a historic deal mediated by China in March. Saudi Arabia had severed diplomatic relations with Iran and recalled its ambassador after protesters broke into the Saudi embassy in Tehran to protest the execution.
The two countries have been considered regional rivals, especially after the 1979 revolution in Iran.
The recent rapprochement between them has been welcomed as a major breakthrough as the two countries have been on opposing sides in conflicts and geo-political rivalries, including in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. The thawing of relations had an instant effect on the conflicts, with major positive developments coming out of Yemen and Syria recently.
Syria has been readmitted to the Arab league and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Houthis have started talks to reach a permanent ceasefire deal. Iranian diplomat Ali Asghar Khaji yesterday met the United Nations special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg via video conference to further discuss a permanent resolution to the Yemen conflict. During the meeting, they discussed the humanitarian crisis and the aid required, along with negotiating the existing disagreements between all stakeholders in Yemen.
