Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Friday, during a first state visit since a surprise rapprochement between the two countries, i24NEWS reported.
"Future opportunities for cooperation” were reviewed, according to the Saudi foreign ministry, “in addition to discussing developments in the situation on the regional and international arenas.”
This was the first time that a senior Iranian official has met with the Saudi Crown Prince, who is known by his initials MBS, reported Iran's official IRNA news agency.
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.
On Thursday, the Iranian Foreign Minister met with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, and took advantage of the opportunity to reiterate the Islamic Republic's support for the “Palestinian cause”.
"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 comes amid speculations that Israel and Saudi Arabia could sign a normalization agreement soon.
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.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Washington.
Israeli and US officials told Barak Ravid of Axios late last week that Dermer’s visit to Washington will deal with the Biden administration's push for a mega-deal with Saudi Arabia that could include a Saudi-Israel normalization agreement.
After the meeting with Dermer, Blinken spoke with the Saudi Foreign Minister “to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues”, according to the State Department.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)