New round of dialogue between Riyadh and Tehran

The rounds of talks between Riyadh and Tehran to normalise relations continue, this time in Jordan. In a dialogue session organised by the Arab Institute for Security Studies in Amman, Iranian and Saudi experts met to reflect and discuss security and cooperation between the two powers. Thus, after more than six years since they broke off diplomatic relations, this conference has become the fourth dialogue session held during 2021, and, according to the director of the Arab Institute for Security Studies, Ayman Khalil, "more meetings are planned to follow up on the recommendations issued" in these talks.

As reported by Petra, Jordan's official news agency, the meeting took place in "an atmosphere of mutual respect" and addressed issues related to maintaining the security of both territories. Thus, one of the central themes of the meeting was the reduction of the threat of ballistic missiles and delivery vehicles, as well as the proposal of measures to increase mutual confidence, especially in relation to the Iranian nuclear programme.  In addition, as a sign of interest in deepening relations and strengthening stability in the region, the two powers also raised the possibility of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.  

However, after the meeting, neither country made official statements on what was discussed at the talks, and, to make matters worse, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, Saudi Arabia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said in a video interview with the Saudi Arab News that Tehran is taking these regional negotiations as a "game". "We would like to push these discussions towards substantive issues involving the behaviour of the Iranian government in the region," the Saudi diplomat declared; "but as long as the Iranians continue to play games with these talks, they will go nowhere."

The restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran would be a huge boost to stability in the region, as the two rival powers each lead one of the most important branches of the Muslim religion. Thus, while Iran has emerged as the leading Shi'a, Saudi Arabia is the Sunni country par excellence, and both aspire to become the hegemonic power in the Islamic world.

These different interpretations of religion have earned Riyadh and Tehran enmity in conflicts such as Syria and Yemen, where Saudi Arabia still leads the Arab coalition fighting the Houthis. Indeed, when asked about its confrontation with Iran in the context of the Yemeni war, Saudi diplomat Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said that the conflict "has proven intractable simply because the Houthis continue to receive a steady supply of arms and ammunition from their benefactors, particularly Iran".  

However, despite the many reasons that strained relations between the two Muslim countries, diplomatic ties were finally severed in January 2016, when Riyadh executed dissident Shia cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, prompting - in response - the storming and subsequent closure of the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

However, last April, after almost six years without formal relations, a meeting held in Baghdad set direct talks between the two sides back on track. Thus, with Iraq as the main mediator in the normalisation of Iranian-Saudi relations, meetings and dialogues - for the moment described as "exploratory" - continue to take place, although to date they are taking place amid much secrecy and without any announcement of concrete results on the table. However, the fact that Ebrahim Raisi has decided to continue with the strategy of negotiation and rapprochement with Saudi Arabia developed by his moderate predecessor, Hassan Rouhani, is already a sign of willingness.