Nearly a Year After 'Normalization of Relations'; Saudi Exports to Iran are 'Zero'

After the excitement among Islamic Republic officials regarding the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia subsided, the spokesperson for the Trade Development Commission of the 'House of Industry and Mine' announced that the trade volume between the two countries is virtually zero, stating that Saudi Arabia has had no exports to Iran, while Iran's exports to Saudi Arabia amounted to $360,000. The ILNA news agency reported today, February 11, citing Rouhollah Latifi, that the figures mentioned pertain to the period from the beginning of the year until the end of January. Ibrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic, had considered the development of economic relations as one of the programs following the normalization of relations. The state news agency 'Irna' reported on April 8 this year that 'investigations show that Saudi Arabia's trade balance capacity is close to $300 billion, and it is predicted that Iran could capture at least $2 to $3 billion of this capacity in the coming years, which would create a significant leap in our country's economy.' The relations between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia were 'revived' in April of this year. The Islamic Republic of Iran's embassy in Riyadh was also reopened on April 12. Following the execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia and the subsequent attack by supporters of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad in the winter of 2015, Saudi Arabia had closed its diplomatic missions in Iran. Last winter, following China's mediation, Tehran and Riyadh agreed to improve relations and reopen their diplomatic offices.