Saudi Arabia

25 Apr 2023; MEMO: Less than two months after Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties, the two Persian Gulf neighbours have resumed their bilateral trade, according to officials on Tuesday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Mining, Reza Fatemi Amin, said in statements cited by state news agency, IRNA, that the entry of Iranian goods into Saudi Arabia was "on the agenda".

Tehran, IRNA – Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran Mehrdad Bazrpash has announced that the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority officially called on its Iranian counterpart to establish three weekly flights besides Hajj pilgrimage airlifts between the Saudi Arabia and Iran.

18 Apr 2023; MEMO: Iran and Saudi Arabia will reopen their embassies in each other's countries by 9 May, a senior Iranian diplomat said yesterday.

Alireza Enayati, director for Persian Gulf affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, told state news agency IRNA that Tehran and Riyadh are set to reopen their embassies.

18 Apr 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister has arrived in Syria's capital today, in the first such official visit to the country since the outbreak of the ongoing conflict in 2011.

Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus, this afternoon, where he was welcomed at the airport by Syria's Minister of Presidency Affairs, Mansour Azzam. He then reportedly met with Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, but no details of their meeting have yet been revealed.

17 Apr 2023; MEMO: Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with Saudi officials, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The Palestinian leader was welcomed upon his arrival in Jeddah by the governor of Mecca, Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

According to state news agency, Wafa, Abbas will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday to discuss Palestinian and regional developments.

16 Apr 2023; MEMO: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and foreign ministers of Arab states have concluded that a political solution is the only way to end the conflict and crisis in Syria, holding off from allowing the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad back into the fold of the Arab League.

16 Apr 2023; MEMO: A senior delegation representing the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas – is to visit Saudi Arabia today after years of declining relations, according to Arabic media reports.

12 Apr 2023; MEMO: An Iranian technical delegation, on Wednesday, arrived in Saudi Arabia for the reopening of Tehran's embassy in Riyadh, Iran's official media reported, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to IRNA news agency, the delegation will later travel to Jeddah to inspect the Consulate office and the Iranian mission to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

11 Apr 2023; MEMO: The General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has sent invitations to member States to attend a meeting next Friday in the Saudi capital, Jeddah, to discuss the possibility of Syria's return to the Arab League, a Qatari official said.

A spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majid Al-Ansari, said Doha has received the invitation adding that Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, will also participate in the "consultative meeting" since they are "concerned countries".

09 Apr 2023; MEMO: CIA Director Bill Burns paid an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia, expressing frustration about Riyadh's recent rapprochement with Iran, according to a report, says Anadolu Agency.

Burns told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the US felt "blindsided" by Riyadh's rapprochement with Iran and Syria – Washington's global rivals – according to the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter.