Saudi army chief in Iran on rare visit: state media

TEHRAN: Saudi Arabia’s top military official arrived in Tehran on Sunday for talks with Iranian officials, state media reported, in a rare high-level meeting since the countries restored ties last year.

Fayyad al-Ruwaili, chief of staff of the Saudi armed forces, met his Iranian counterpart General Mohammad Bagheri at the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff Headquarters in the capital, the official news agency IRNA reported.

“The development of defence diplomacy and the expansion of bilateral cooperation are among the main topics of this meeting,” it added.

The Fars news agency said that at the meeting, Bagheri noted increased security cooperation between the two countries.

“We would like the Saudi navy to join Iranian naval exercises next year, either as participants or observers,” Fars quoted Bagheri as saying.

In March 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed relations under a surprise China-brokered deal.

Tehran and Riyadh had severed ties in 2016 after Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked during protests over Riyadh’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

The two countries have long backed opposing sides in conflict zones across the region, notably in Syria and Yemen. Bagheri had declared Iran’s readiness to improve military relations with Saudi Arabia in a phone call with the Saudi defence minister in November 2023, the IRNA reported at the time.

In October, Saudi Arabia announced that it had held war games with Iran and other countries in the Sea of Oman.

Iraqi National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji was also expected in Tehran to meet senior officials, Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.