Iran appoints new ambassador to Saudi Arabia PHOTO

Iran has appointed its new ambassador to Saudi Arabia as part of the two countries' continuing efforts to restore bilateral relations after seven years.

Alireza Enayati, the director of the Persian Gulf Department at Iran's Foreign Ministry, was appointed as Iran's new envoy to the kingdom, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported on May 22.

He has earlier served as Iran's ambassador to Kuwait, and recently was tasked with supervising the work of the Iranian delegation laying the groundwork to reopen Iran's missions in Saudi Arabia.

After years of hostility that fueled conflicts across the Middle East, Tehran and Riyadh agreed to end their diplomatic rift and re-open embassies in a trilateral deal facilitated by China on March 10.

Both Riyadh and Tehran stressed "respect for sovereignty and non-interference in each other's internal affairs", in accordance with a previous security cooperation agreement signed in April 2001, according to the trilateral statement signed between Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Saudi National Security Adviser Musaed bin Mohammed al-Aiban, and China's senior diplomat Wang Yi.

Later, in a joint statement signed by Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in the Chinese capital city of Beijing on April 6, the two countries agreed to resume flights and bilateral visits after seven years.

The statement reiterated points previously made in the March announcement, saying that both sides would reopen embassies and consulates "at an agreed time" and send technical delegations to restart direct flights and facilitate visas, including for Iranians wanting to perform the Umrah pilgrimage.

The politically isolated Iranian regime which is hardly affected by US sanctions has heralded the revival of ties with Riyadh as a significant victory and a defeat for the United States in the region.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in January 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad were attacked by protesters angered by the execution of top Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in the Sunni-majority kingdom. The kingdom then asked Iranian diplomats to leave within 48 hours while it evacuated its embassy staff from Tehran.

Iran supports the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Yemen's Houthi rebels, against whom Saudi Arabia has led a military campaign since March 2015. Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for arming the Houthis, who attacked its cities and oil facilities with missile and drone attacks.

Saudi Arabia had blamed Iran for a 2019 missile and drone assault on its oil plants, a charge Tehran denies. The two countries have also been locked in rivalry for decades, backing allies fighting proxy wars across the region.