China is helping its long-standing adversaries Iran and Saudi Arabia break the diplomatic ice.
Tehran and Riyadh have reestablished diplomatic ties, seven years after those ties were severed in 2016.
TEHRAN: Following nearly two years of arduous attempts to thaw relations and reopen embassies, regional arch-enemies and estranged neighbors, Iran and Saudi Arabia, finally broke the diplomatic ice.
After several days of intense discussion between the two countries’ top security officials in Beijing, facilitated by the Chinese government, the surprise announcement was made on Friday.
The breakthrough occurred in Beijing at President Xi Jinping’s initiative, despite Iraq serving as the primary middleman for the majority of the negotiations to defuse tensions between Tehran and Riyadh since April 2021.
According to a knowledgeable senior diplomat in Tehran, the breakthrough was made possible by President Ebrahim Raisi’s February trip to Beijing, which was the first by an Iranian president in 20 years.
The final breakthrough was elusive, he said, despite the fact that the foundation had already been laid, agreements had been reached, and both sides had shown the required political will to patch things up.
He emphasized that Beijing made the offer of mediation, which Tehran “readily accepted.”
After signing the joint statement in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and their Saudi counterparts Musaid Al-Aiban and Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s top security official also told reporters that Raisi’s visit and meeting with his Chinese counterpart “provided the basis” for the agreement.
He also acknowledged the “valuable role” played by Baghdad in “paving the way for the agreement” in a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani before the joint statement.
After angry mobs attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad in January 2016 in response to the execution of Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated.
They have been engaged in protracted negotiations in Baghdad since April 2021 with the goal of restoring diplomatic ties, but obstacles like the protracted Yemen war prevented a breakthrough.
role of Oman and Iraq
On April 9, 2021, the two Persian Gulf rivals began a dialogue aimed at improving relations. Initially, the conflict in Yemen, where they support opposing sides, was the main topic of discussion.
However, neither side officially acknowledged having direct talks until May 2021. Tehran said it “welcomed the resolution of issues” with Riyadh in a statement on May 10, 2021.
However, the discussions about mending the fence were interspersed with tense pauses. Just before the fifth round of negotiations in March 2022, Iran withdrew without providing an explanation. It happened the day after large-scale executions in Saudi Arabia, where dozens of Shias reportedly took part.
The fifth and final round of negotiations took place in Baghdad a month later, but the host nation’s political crisis caused a deadlock and ensuing unrest in Iran further complicated the efforts.
At least five rounds of de-escalation talks between the two sides were held in Baghdad over the course of two years, but Oman is also thought to have acted as a facilitator without making any public announcements.
According to his office, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called his counterparts in Iraq and Oman on Friday to express gratitude. He also had a conversation with his Qatari counterpart, who is actively engaged in efforts to restart negotiations for the renewal of the 2015 nuclear agreement.
“Baghdad and Muscat played instrumental roles in bridging differences between the two neighbors to the point that they agreed to escalate talks from the security to the political level,” said Humayoun Afshari, a strategic affairs analyst based in Tehran.
But China was the one who assisted them in crossing the finish line, he continued.
The breakthrough, according to Afshari, was the result of improving Iran-China political and economic ties amid US tensions and Beijing’s “tremendous influence” in both Riyadh and Tehran.
The way President Xi handled the crisis that resulted from the joint GCC-China statement in December of last year, which violated Iran’s red lines, “demonstrated it,” he told Anadolu.
