Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian took advantage of his official visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday to reiterate the Islamic Republic's support for the “Palestinian cause”, i24NEWS reported.
Standing alongside Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal, Amir-Abdollahian described the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict as "the most important issue in the Islamic world."
"We continue to support Palestine", he stressed, adding, "There is no doubt that the Zionist regime will continue its efforts to divide the Muslim world and the region. We follow the movements of the Zionist regime with insight and vigilance."
Amir-Abdollahian’s visit to Saudi Arabia follows a China-brokered deal reached in March, and in which Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to normalize relations after seven years.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry officially announced in June that it would reopen its diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia in the wake of the agreement.
The Iranian Foreign Minister’s visit also comes amid speculations that Israel and Saudi Arabia could sign a normalization agreement soon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear that his goal is to achieve a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia that would “effectively end the Arab-Israeli conflict.”
Despite Saudi denials of any contacts with Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported recently that the United States and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the broad outlines of a deal for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel in exchange for concessions to the Palestinian Arabs.
Saudi officials have repeatedly said that a Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital is a prerequisite for Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.
US President Joe Biden notably visited Saudi Arabia a year ago, where he announced two agreements considered to be significant steps on the path toward normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia: A deal concerning the removal of multinational forces from the Red Sea islands of Sanafir and Tiran, and the opening of Saudi airspace for all Israeli flights.