After years of conflict, the foreign ministers of regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have called each other for the first time. Hossein Amirabdollahian and Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud exchanged congratulations to mark the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, state media from both countries reported today.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Saudi agency SPA announced that a planned ministerial meeting had also been discussed.
Iran and Saudi Arabia want to resume bilateral relations after seven years of diplomatic ice age. As a first step, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the rival countries was decided at the beginning of the month, which is to take place soon.
Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia-majority Iran have not maintained diplomatic relations in recent years. Both countries are struggling for political and military influence in the region.
