By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) – Top diplomats of Saudi Arabia and Iran met in Beijing, for the first time in over seven years, on Thursday, Chinese state media reported.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese broadcaster CGTN reported.
The meeting comes after Riyadh and Tehran last month in a surprise development announced the resumption of diplomatic relations, brokered by China.
The two nations are expected to reopen embassies in each other’s capital by the coming month.
Iran and Saudi Arabia severed their ties after the Saudi Embassy in Tehran was stormed by an angry mob in January 2016 following the execution of Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
Since April 2021, the two sides were engaged in marathon talks facilitated by Baghdad and Muscat, but it was Chinese intervention that resulted in a breakthrough last month.