Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke by telephone with Saudi Arabia’s prince and Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday morning (9).
The ministers “discussed bilateral relations and regional developments”, Tehran said, without specifying when the call took place.
Saudi state media said in a statement released on Wednesday night (8) that bin Farhan received calls from the foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan and Turkey, without mentioning Iran.
Context: Saudi Arabia and Iran are regional powers that have competed for political and economic influence for decades. Underlying this competition are deep divisions between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, practiced by the majority of the population in Saudi Arabia and Iran, respectively.
Iran and Saudi Arabia reestablished diplomatic relations in 2023, after a seven-year freeze following Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. However, the , including oil refineries, .
CNN has reached out to the Saudi Foreign Ministry for comment.
