(JustPatriots.com)- In what can only be seen as an extraordinary reversal of how the two countries have handled relations in recent years, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced earlier this week that the foreign ministers for both countries would meet with each other during Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims.
Ramadan started on Wednesday this week and will last until about April 20. The holy month ends when religious scholars are able to see a new crescent moon in the light sky, which signals the start of another month for the Islamic lunar calendar.
The two countries are some of the biggest Muslim majority countries in the world. Iran is home to the largest population of Shiite Muslims in the world. Meanwhile, the royal family of Saudi Arabia is Sunni Muslim and are the custodians of the holiest sites in all of Islam.
Yet, the two countries have been bitter rivals over the last few years. Diplomatic relations were ultimately called off by Saudi Arabi back in 2016 following a firebombing of the Saudi Arabia embassy in Tehran that year. The government in Iran didn’t do much at all to respond to that attack, prompting the Saudi government to take its actions.
Now, though, the two countries are planning to restore ambassadors in each other’s capitals and focus on building back up a bilateral relationship. This follows extended talks that were held in China recently.
The Chinese Communist Party is an ally to each of these countries. When the announcement was made, the CCP said it was a big defeat for America, especially after President Joe Biden had an unpleasant visit to Saudi Arabia last year.
Before reports began to surface that Saudi Arabia and Iran wanted to join the BRICS coalition, apparently their government officials met with Xi Jinping, the president of China.
BRICS is a commercial organization made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that offers wide-ranging diplomatic support across the world. Both China and Russia have been wanting to expand the coalition in recent years as a way to limit the overall influence the U.S. dollar has in international markets.
On Monday, the Saudi Press Agency – which is a news outlet operated by the government there – said the government agreed to set a meeting with Iran “during the ongoing month of Ramadan.” That meeting will be between Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the foreign minister of Iran, and Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the foreign minister prince of Saudi Arabia.
The report issued by the SPA read:
“Saudi Arabia and Iran agree to respect state sovereignty and not interfere in internal matters.”
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed that meeting in a formal statement of its own. The meeting was agreed to after the two diplomats had a phone call together, where they addressed “a number of common issues in light of the tripartite agreement that was signed in the People’s Republic of China.”
