Saudi Arabia Grants Visa to Head of Iran's Interests Office

The state news agency IRNA reported, citing an 'informed source', that Saudi Arabia has issued a visa for the head and staff of Iran's Interests Office in the country. While the news agency assessed this action as 'a positive diplomatic step in Tehran-Riyadh relations', Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the political deputy of the Iranian President's office, stated on Monday, August 15, that Saudi pressures against Iran have increased since Donald Trump's presidency. According to IRNA, Mohammad Alibek, head of the Oman and Yemen department at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, has been appointed as the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Interests Office in Jeddah and has received a visa from Saudi Arabia to begin his work. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said on August 13 in an interview with the Pana news agency that a 10-member consular team from Iran has traveled to Saudi Arabia for consular affairs. According to Mr. Qasemi, Iran had hoped that this team would be stationed at the Iranian embassy in Saudi Arabia, but Saudi officials ultimately decided that they would be based at the 'Ba'ithah' for Hajj. The 'Ba'ithah' is responsible for managing Iranian pilgrims' Hajj in Saudi Arabia. IRNA and the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry did not provide further details about the future status of Iran's Interests Office in Saudi Arabia. After the severance of relations between the two countries, the Swiss embassies in Iran and Saudi Arabia were designated as protecting interests for both countries on Wednesday, October 25, 2017. On the same day, the ISNA news agency reported that Iran's Interests Office is set to open soon in Jeddah with the presence of Iranian diplomats. Saudi Arabia severed its relations with Iran following attacks on its diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad in January 2016. Meanwhile, verbal disputes between Iranian and Saudi officials after the Mina incident and their failure to agree on the conditions prevented Iranian pilgrims from attending Hajj in 2016. Subsequently, on Thursday, August 3, 2017, a 10-member group of Iranian diplomats traveled to Saudi Arabia to follow up on Hajj-related matters, and on Friday, August 11, 2017, the 'Ba'ithah' building was inaugurated, with its sign installed by Saudi Arabia. After that, Iranian Foreign Ministry officials announced the possibility of diplomatic delegations from both countries visiting their embassies, but no reports have been published regarding these visits. Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have deteriorated in recent years due to conflicts in Syria and Yemen, increasing regional competition between the two countries, and Saudi Arabia's opposition to the JCPOA. Previously, some officials from both countries had expressed hope for improving relations. However, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the political deputy of the Iranian President's office, stated on Monday in an interview with the Tasnim news agency that Saudi pressures against Iran have increased since Donald Trump's presidency. He added, 'There is an illusion among current Saudi officials that has intensified with Trump's arrival. That is, because Mr. Trump is a delusional person and believes that he can deal with Iran through pressure and containment policies, this delusion has also affected Saudi officials who think this method will work. They are mistaken.' Meanwhile, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also stated in an interview with Pana that following Donald Trump's positions on Iran, Saudi officials believe that by continuing the current situation, they can 'gain more concessions from Iran' and are not taking steps to establish relations. Reuters reported last week that the Trump administration is trying to form a political-security coalition including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt, and Jordan to counter the Islamic Republic.