Officially… Iranian President visits Saudi Arabia after an official invitation from King Salman

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi has accepted an invitation from Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to visit the Saudi capital of Riyadh, according to Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber. This is the first visit by an Iranian president to Saudi Arabia in many years.

Official confirmation of the visit

The semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that Mokhber made the remarks in response to a request by the Saudi king to invite Raisi to visit Riyadh. The move followed Chinese-brokered talks in Beijing in early March, during which Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months.

On 19 March, Mohammad Jamchidi, Iranian Vice President’s Chief of Staff for Political Affairs, tweeted that the Saudi King had written an invitation letter to the Iranian President to visit Riyadh, and commenting on Iran’s relations with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in the region, Mokhber said: “Improving relations with the countries of the region was one of the main strategies that Raisi’s administration has followed since the President took office.”

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in early 2016 in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shia cleric.