Saudi Arabia and Iran hold talks after Tehran’s truce with Israel

Iran’s foreign minister has held talks with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, the Saudi foreign ministry announced, two weeks after a ceasefire between regional rivals Iran and Israel began.

Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed his country’s hope that the truce would contribute to regional stability and emphasized Riyadh’s position “in supporting dialogue through diplomatic means as a path to resolving disputes,” the ministry stated in a post on X early Wednesday.

According to the Saudi ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “expressed his gratitude” to Riyadh for its condemnation of Israel’s attacks on Iran last month.

Israel launched its unprecedented bombing campaign on Iran on June 13, targeting military and nuclear facilities as well as residential areas. Tehran claims these Israeli strikes killed more than 1,000 people, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

In retaliation, Israel was hit by waves of drone and missile fire from Iran, which Israeli authorities reported left at least 28 people dead.

The United States, which had been in talks with Iran about its nuclear program since April, carried out its own strikes on Iran on June 22, targeting several nuclear sites. Although talks between Tehran and Washington have since stalled, the ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24.

Iran, with its Shiite Muslim majority, and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia have historically been on opposing sides of regional conflicts, including those in Syria and Yemen. The two regional heavyweights broke off diplomatic relations in 2016 before re-establishing them in 2023 under a China-brokered rapprochement deal, a diplomatic achievement for Prince Mohammed, who has adopted a more conciliatory approach to regional diplomacy in recent years.

Saudi Arabia condemned the Israeli strikes on Iran last month, calling them “aggressions” and a “clear violation of international laws.” Riyadh also expressed “great concern” following the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Araghchi held “fruitful conversations” with Prince Mohammed, as well as Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Defence Minister Prince Khaled bin Salman, discussing bilateral relations and regional developments.