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Saudi Arabia and Iran Agree to Restore Ties, in Talks Hosted by China

(New York Times) Vivian Nereim - After years of open hostility and proxy conflicts, Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties, they announced on Friday. China hosted the talks that led to the breakthrough. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016, when protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran after Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric. The two countries agreed to reactivate a lapsed security cooperation pact, after years of Iranian-backed militias in Yemen targeting Saudi Arabia with missile and drone attacks. Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi, visited Beijing last month, and China's top leader, Xi Jinping, visited Riyadh in December. Saudi officials often complain that their American allies are too critical and are no longer reliable security partners. Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, described the renewed Iran-Saudi ties as "a lose, lose, lose for American interests." "It demonstrates that the Saudis don't trust Washington to have their back, that Iran sees an opportunity to peel away American allies to end its international isolation, and that China is becoming the major-domo of Middle Eastern power politics."
2023-03-13 00:00:00
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