Iran and Saudi Arabia – the two power houses in the Middle East -- have decided to advance their bilateral economic and defense ties and to increase cooperation in relation to the regional developments according to Iran’ security chief Ali Larijani.
Following a visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh this week and meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his host Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Iran’s influential Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Larijani said that expansion of economic, defense and regional cooperation was reviewed during his one-day trip.
“We discussed expansion of ties with Saudi Arabia in economic and defense areas and regional cooperation,” he told the state IRIB TV, adding it was decided that working groups will be established to follow up the discussions and agreements reached in Riyadh.
Larijani referred to the unsatisfactory level of bilateral relations between the Islamic republic and the Saudi kingdom and said the talks focused on “defense cooperation, expansion of economic ties, and solutions for regional stability”.
His visit to the Persian Gulf neighboring Saudi Arabia was upon the invitation of Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman who had visited Tehran on April 17 and submitted the written message of the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
"In my meeting with Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Iranian National Security Council, I reviewed Saudi-Iranian relations, and in addition to addressing a number of issues and topics of common concern, we discussed developments in the regional situation and the efforts made in response to it in order to achieve security and stability," the Saudi minister wrote in a post.
Tehran and Riyadh are two powerhouses in the Middle East and have been mending and advancing their bilateral diplomatic ties since 2022 through high-level visits and contacts following an agreement mediated by China.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met on Monday in Doha, Qatar on the sidelines of the Islamic-Arab summit held in the wake of Israel’s airstrikes on Palestinian leaders who had gathered in Qatar to discuss US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal between Hamas and Israel.
Iran has grabbed Israel’s violation of Qatar’s sovereignty which is a close US ally in the region hosting the al-Udeid airbase on its soil as a golden opportunity to improve its relations with its Arab neighbors specially the Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries.
Riyadh was Larijani’s third foreign destination. The influential SNSC secretary travelled to Iraq and Lebanon last month and also met Russian president in Kremlin before his re-assignment at the top security position on August 7.
The pragmatist conservative politician is an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamanei. He first served as the SNSC secretary from August 2005 to October 2007 when he was also Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator with France, Germany and the UK.
The SNSC plays a central role in shaping Iran’s foreign and security policy. Larijani’s reappointment at the pivotal position in the country’s political architecture was seen as a major development in Iran’s regional and international security policies including its ties with neighboring Saudi Arabia and Tehran’s civilian nuclear program.
Space-agency chiefs and industry leaders met to discuss lunar exploration, satellite networks and orbital security on Tuesday as a major global spa...
Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had b...
An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday...
Australian counterterrorism authorities are examining the links of the co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and attempting to take control of a flydubai flight bound for Israel. Authorities in New Zealand have also said they are investigating reports the suspect had spent time in that country.
Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had been detected among anyone who had come into contact with a Siberian plague institute laboratory worker who died last week, and locals said their lives had barely been disrupted.
Right-wing Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro will face leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a runoff of the presidential election later this month, after he exceeded expectations in Sunday's first-round vote with a slight lead over the incumbent.
Candidates elected to Bosnia and Herzegovina's three-member presidency declared victory after preliminary unofficial results showed Denis Becirovic leading the Bosniak seat, Darijana Filipovic ahead in the Croat seat and Zeljka Cvijanovic likely retaining the Serb seat.
An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday, 5 October, Baku's Foreign Ministry has said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project could become a cornerstone of economic transformation in Armenia and the wider region, while boosting investment and regional connectivty.
Central Asian countries are strengthening sanitary and quarantine controls amid the situation in Russia’s Irkutsk region. Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have introduced preventive measures following the death of an employee of a plague research institute in the city of Shelekhov.
Kazakhstan’s former navy chief, Kanat Niyazbekov, has been arrested after 14 servicemen died during military exercises in the Caspian Sea in September, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing law enforcement authorities.
The German-Azerbaijani Connectivity Conference 2026 commenced on 6 October in Baku under the title “Mobilising Finance for Infrastructure, Transport, Logistics, Green Energy, and Digitalisation along the Middle Corridor.”
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye on Monday agreed at an emergency meeting in Riyadh to put their Mecca Joint Defence Agreement into practical effect, deciding to deploy agreed military forces and capabilities rapidly to the kingdom as Houthi attacks and a Saudi-backed offensive in Yemen continue.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment