Alwaght- Iranian-Saudi talks started in April 2021 in Iraq and since then, representatives of the two countries have held five rounds discussing the de-escalation of tensions and resumption of diplomatic ties. Although due to the obstructions by the Saudi side the talks have been on hold since April last year, pieces of evidence suggest that a progress has been made over the past weeks and the sixth round is to be held soon.
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that his Saudi counterpart will soon visit Baghdad to discuss arrangements for resumption of Tehran-Riyadh dialogue. On the other side, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian in a meeting with his Qatari counterpart on Monday talked about progress to resume the negotiations with the Saudis, adding: “Until now, messages between Tehran and Riyadh have been sent through Iraq. Several rounds of negotiations have been conducted between the two countries, and the new round of talks between the two countries is supposed to continue in the form that is to be agreed upon.”
The two countries intend to hold the sixth round as in the past five rounds, which took a full year to conclude, an array of bilateral and regional matters were discussed. In the first round, the Saudi delegation consisted of 6 people, including the high-ranking security advisor to the Saudi crown prince and headed by Khaled bin Ali Al Humaidan, the director general of General Intelligence Directorate. The Iranian delegation was 5-member headed by a high-ranking government official and representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Quds Force, as well as the representative of foreign ministry. According to media reports, the atmosphere of the negotiations was positive and exceeded expectations, and bilateral and regional issues were discussed.
The first to third rounds were not given publicity by the two sides, and some media outlets only reported details about the process of these talks quoting informed sources. Iran and Saudi Arabia try to avoid publicization of the details of these talks until they reach a basic solution to settle their political and security differences. The second round was held a week after the first round, and Iraqi officials confirmed it only after it ended. The third round, as Iraqi sources said, was held in October 2021 and the unresolved issues, including the reactivation of the diplomatic representation between the two countries were discussed in line with the agreed-upon roadmap.
After the third round, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia during an address of the UN General Assembly hoped that dialogue with Tehran would produce tangible results in the form of confidence and cooperation. Ex-spokesman to Iranian Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh, maintaining that over the past months the contacts between Tehran and Riyadh have been more regular than before, suggested that the two had “good” talks about bilateral issues.
Fourth round and entry to fundamental talks
The precise date of the fourth round was not disclosed, but, according to media, it was in December 2021. Some Iranian officials publicized part of its details which were constructive and positive. Some time after the fourth round, Amir-Abdullahian said, in the latest round of negotiations, Iran made a series of “practical and constructive proposals” to the Saudi side, and the delegations of the two countries will meet in Baghdad in the near future and will take action regarding the implementation of the next stage of the agreements. The top Iranian foreign policy chief said that Tehran was ready for the technical delegations of the two countries to visit the embassies and for the embassies to make arrangements for the relations to return to their normalcy.
The talks also had some minor achievements. Last year, Saudi Arabia agreed to issue visas to three Iranian diplomats who were supposed to work as staff stationed at the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah.
Progress in the fifth round
In the fifth round, which saw political and security progress, more details were leaked out to media and Iranian diplomats officially confirmed this. Both Tehran and Riyadh sounded upbeat about possible improvement of their relations. The fifth round was supposed to be held at the end of March last year, but before this meeting was held, Iran canceled it unilaterally, and some people linked it to the execution of 80 Shiites in Saudi Arabia. In April last year, the fifth round was held, but due to some fundamental differences, the Saudi side stopped the talks and so far no date has been set for holding the sixth round.
In the fifth round, the outlook for a resumption of dipmatic ties was described as clear. The two sides agreed on the resumption of relations and the possibility of holding a joint foreign ministerial meeting. Also, according to sources familiar with the talks, the two sides discussed bilateral relations, regional cases, and security of the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council member states.
Following the fifth round, the Iraqi foreign minister said that the two sides reached an agreement on a 10-point MoU. Hussein emphasized that Iran’s talks with Saudi Arabia also included continuation of the ceasefire in Yemen. It was also agreed that the next round of talks would be at the diplomatic level. According to sources familiar with the process of negotiations, in the fifth round, Iran proposed reopening embassies, but the Saudi turned down the offer, emphasizing that the embassies will not reopen u till an agreement on all issues is reached.
Over the past year, in addition to the talks between the officials of the two countries in Iraq, there have been talks between the two sides at different levels elsewhere. Media claimed in last year that a security meeting between Iranian and Saudi experts was held in the capital of Jordan in December 2021, with the two sides discussing regional issues and in particular security and stability in the region. Also, at the same time, Amir-Abdullahian met with Faisal bin Farhan, his Saudi counterpart, on the sidelines of the meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Pakistan. In the recent Baghdad 2 meeting hosted by Jordan, short talks were held between the foreign ministers of the two countries, and Amir-Abdollahian said that in this meeting, the Saudi foreign minister assured that his country’s was ready to continue negotiations with Iran.
Clear prospect
Given the progress made, the negotiations between the two countries are moving on the right path and the upcoming round can be determining. Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that if the Saudi side is serious in negotiations, reaching understandings on all issues is possible, but the two countries, in addition to political issues, have conflicting ideas on regional issues including Yemen and Lebanon, and it takes cooperation to reach an agreement on these areas.
Stuck in the self-made quagmire of Yemen war, Saudi Arabia understands very well that the longer the talks go on, the more its costs will increase in this war, because Yemen’s Ansarullah Movement is getting stronger day by day and the continuation of the hostile approach towards Sana’a and maintaining the inhuman blockade on Yemen can bring forth serious threats to the Arab kingdom’s interests.
Over the past eight years, Saudi officials have repeatedly accused Iran of interference in Yemen affairs, even claiming that it provides weapons to Ansarullah. Their claims have not been verified by the UN.
In Lebanon, too, Saudi Arabia, assisted by the West, sanctioned Beirut to check Hezbollah and Iran’s influence in the country. The sanctions only aggrevated the economic crisis Lebanon has been struggling with since 2018. Western officials have over and over asserted that settling regional cases without Iranian help is impossible, and if the Saudis are really interested to step out of the crisis, they should come to terms with growing Iranian power in the region.
Given their bilateral readiness to continue the talks to settle political and security problems, Iran and Saudi Arabia are expected to hold their sixth round, likely to be held in the coming weeks in Baghdad, at foreign ministerial level and it bears the chance of a fundamental progress.
