9 months ago
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Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Talal bin Abdullah Al-Otaibi (right) during a meeting with Iran’s Deputy Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces Aziz Nasirzadeh in Moscow on August 16, 2023
High-ranking military officials from Iran and Saudi Arabia held an official meeting on Wednesday in Moscow.
This is the first time the two nations' military representatives have met since Riyadh and Tehran agreed to resume diplomatic relations.
According to an official announcement from the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia, Talal bin Abdullah Al-Otaibi, the Deputy Minister of Defense, engaged in a productive discussion with Aziz Nasirzadeh, the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces of Iran. This dialogue took place during the 11th Moscow International Security Conference, organized under the patronage of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The IRNA state news agency reported that the primary focus of the meeting was to underscore the commitment of both nations to the China-brokered agreement that restored diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in March.
One of the significant outcomes of this meeting was the mutual decision to facilitate the expedited exchange of military affiliates between the two countries, added IRNA.
This thawing of relations comes against the backdrop of years of severed ties between Tehran and Riyadh, originating from the organized attack on Saudi Arabia's diplomatic installations in Tehran and Mashhad in 2016. Tensions escalated in the proceeding years, with notable incidents including the Houthi-led assault on Saudi oil facilities in September 2019. While Saudi Arabia attributed the attack and related maritime incidents to the Islamic Republic, Tehran consistently refuted these allegations.
