Saudi Arabia to lift Iran travel ban, direct flights to be established soon

Negotiations are reportedly underway between Saudi Arabia and Iran for lifting a travel ban and resuming direct flights to and from the country, according to the Iranian Airline and Tourist Service Offices Syndicate.

Hormtallah Rafiei, the syndicate’s chairman, told the Iranian ISNA news agency that a number of "fruitful meetings" have been held on the resumption of travel between the two regional powers, in the aftermath of a landmark China-brokered decision to re-establish diplomatic ties.

He stated that "preliminary negotiations and agreements" have been carried out to conduct these flights between Iranian and Saudi cities, which includes the Dammam route to Mashhad and Tehran, indicating that travel could take place soon, New Arab reports.

Rafiei also added that travel between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been a "demand" of the Iranian private sector, which was negatively impacted by the severance of ties between Riyadh and Tehran seven years ago.

He said that the rapprochement with Saudi Arabia will lead to the growth of the tourism sector in the country, stating that Riyadh is "very serious" about the issue.

The chairman also expects that the Saudi-Iranian détente will pave the way for increased relations with other Arab nations, who reduced their level of links to Tehran following the rupture of ties in 2016.