Upon directives of the Saudi leadership, Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and his accompanying delegation arrived on 17 April in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on an official visit.
Prince Khalid bin Salman met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday. During the meeting, Prince Khalid delivered a letter from King Salman and conveyed the greetings of the Kingdom’s leadership.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran and topics of mutual interest were also discussed at the meeting, Prince Khalid wrote on X.
Prince Khalid was also received by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Regional and international developments and related efforts were discussed during the meeting.
The Saudi Defense Minister later met with the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian. He also met with the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri (photo).
The visit follows renewed diplomatic engagement between the two countries. On Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, during which they discussed regional developments and efforts to address them.
In another development, the Iranian Foreign Minister said Saturday that indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington are moving forward, adding that technical discussions at the level of experts will begin in Oman within days.
Following the conclusion of the talks in the Italian capital Rome, the Iranian foreign minister said that the second round of the negotiations lasted four hours.
Araqchi stated that the talks were held in a constructive atmosphere and negotiations are progressing.
The top diplomat added that the both sides succeeded in reaching “a better understanding” on a number of principles and purposes.
“Technical discussions at the level of experts will begin in Oman on Wednesday, before another round of talks between the delegations a week from now,” he continued.
“Naturally, experts have more time to delve into the details and work on designing a framework for an agreement. Then, next Saturday, we will meet again in Oman to review the results of the experts’ work and assess how close we are to the core elements of a deal,” Araqchi noted.
A new round of talks between Iran and the US, mediated by Oman, was held in Italy on Saturday. Araqchi leads the Iranian delegation, while US president special envoy Steve Witkoff heads the American team.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi was exchanging messages between the two sides.
The previous round of indirect negotiations was held in Muscat on 12 April. Both sides had described the first round of discussions as “positive and constructive”. (SPA; Arab News; X; Reuters; Photo © Reuters)
