CNN
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Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman al-Saud arrived in Tehran on Thursday on a rare visit to the Islamic Republic of the Saudi royal family.
Iranian news outlet Isna added that Prince Khalid met with Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian army, “one of the topics of discussion between the two senior defense secretaries in developing defense relations and regional cooperation to strengthen peace and stability in the region, as well as the fight against terrorism.”
It has been decades since the Saudi Arabian senior royal family last visited Iran. King Abdullah bin Abdullah Ziz did that in 1997. Prince Khalid is the son of Salman bin Abdulaziz, King of Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabian Conference is that Tehran is in talks with the United States to reach a new nuclear agreement, and as they face the threat of the US and Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities if negotiations fail. Iran warns that attacks on its territory could ignite a wider regional war. The United States maintains its military presence in Iran, which is adjacent to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries.
The two officials “will hold many meetings to discuss issues of bilateral relations and common interest,” the state-run Saudi Arabian news agency said.
Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Iranian capital following the execution of Shiite clergy in Saudi Arabia. They then spent years with proxy wars involving many neighboring countries, especially Yemen.
In Yemen, both countries supported the other side of the civil war, so Iran-backed rebels launched missiles in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, targeting economically essential oil infrastructure.
The ties began to thaw two years ago, and both states eventually signed a groundbreaking regularised deal mediated by China.
Saudi Arabia, along with other Gulf Arab countries, has been wary of being caught up in a conflict with Israel and the United States.
After Iran exchanged strikes with Israel last year, Gulf Arab countries have expressed concern with the US about potential Israeli attacks on Iran’s oil facilities, potentially causing economic and environmental consequences across the region. Iran publicly warned that any party considered to support Israel would be treated as an invader.
A material-savvy source told CNN at the time that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar had told both the US and Iran that they would not allow Israel to use airspace to attack Iran.
In October, Saudi Arabia and Iran carried out their first joint naval campaign in the Gulf of Oman, according to Iranian media, and in November, Feiyad Al-Ruwairi, the head of the Saudi army, reported that he had visited Tehran to meet his Iranian counterpart.