Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman met Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian Friday in the highest-level talks since the countries reconciled in March. The unscheduled meeting in Jeddah comes a day after Amirabdollahian arrived in the kingdom and declared ties between the countries were "on the right track" following talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan."Discussions were frank, beneficial and productive," Amirabdollahian said in a social media post after meeting the Saudi crown prince, adding that the countries "agree on the security and development of all in the region".Footage of the meeting on Iranian state media showed Mohamed bin Salman and Amirabdollahian smiling as they spoke, while Prince Faisal and the Iranian delegation looked on. Saudi state news agency SPA said they discussed international and regional developments.Prince Faisal visited Tehran in June and said he hoped Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi would visit the kingdom at the "appropriate time".After years of competition, and with some of the main regional arenas for their competition more stable than in previous years, both sides have reason to change tack.Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wanted to end political and economic isolation pushed by the United States and saw new relations with Saudi Arabia as a way to do so, Iranian officials have said.Prince Faisal also spoke by phone with US Secretary General Antony Blinken, with the pair discussing more co-ordination to boost "security and stability in the Middle East region," Saudi state media reported Friday.
August 18, 2023 | 11:00 PM