The deal, which was sealed during a meeting in China and will also see the two countries reopen embassies, was announced Friday by Iranian state media.
Iran said Friday it had agreed a deal with Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic relations, a surprise breakthrough after years of soaring tensions between the regional rivals.
The deal, which was sealed during a meeting in China and will also see the two countries reopen embassies, was announced by Iranian state media. Saudi Arabia has not yet commented and and Chinese state media has not reported on the deal, which would represent a boost to its status as a broker on the global stage.
The deal came after intensive negotiations between Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni, and his Saudi counterpart in China, Iran’s state-run Press TV reported.
Tensions have simmered between Sunni Muslim powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is majority Shiite, for decades.
The two countries have been locked in an intensifying struggle for regional dominance, their rivalry exacerbated by religious differences and the war in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace or Islam, has historically seen itself as the leader of the Muslim world, but this was challenged after the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979.
The kingdom broke off ties with its neighbor in 2016 after protesters stormed some of its diplomatic posts in the country and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Days earlier, Saudi Arabia had executed the prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
“Clearing up the misunderstandings and looking to the future in Tehran-Riyadh relations will definitely lead to the development of regional stability and security and the increase of cooperation between the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Islamic world to manage the existing challenges,” Shamkhani said Friday after signing the deal, according to Press TV.