October 14, 2022
Negotiations with Saudi Arabia about resuming diplomatic relations seem to have hit an impasse.
The fifth round of talks was held in April. All five rounds were held between intelligence and other officials, rather than diplomats of the two countries.
It was then announced that a sixth round would soon be held, but that the Foreign Ministries of the two countries would take over the negotiations.
But there has not been another round of talks in the ensuing five months. Iraq, which is sponsoring the talks and hosting them in Baghdad, announced September 20 that a sixth round would be held, but no date was yet set and it said the meeting would between intelligence and other officials again, not diplomats.
Saudi Arabia’s main concern is almost universally believed to be inducing Iran to convince the Houthis in Yemen to make a peace deal with Saudi Arabia to end a decade of warfare. Iran’s main goal is not clear.
Iraj Masjedi, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, said after the April 23 meeting that the two countries focused on four issues: 1) building trust; 2) acceptance of Iranian pilgrims at the hajj; 3) re-opening embassies; and 4) “regional and international issues,” which was seen as a code term for the war in Yemen and the role of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Saudis reportedly want Iran to lean on the Houthis to negotiate with Riyadh. Iran has publicly said the Houthis make their own decisions and Iran cannot tell them what to do.
It is true that the Houthis are not under Iran’s thumb. They are their own bosses and linked up with Iran out of their own interest. But Iran supplies them with much of their weaponry and can clearly pressure the Houthis if it so chooses.
The Saudis severed relations with Iran more than six years ago after Iranian policemen did nothing to stop mobs from overrunning the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the consulate in Mashhad. The embassy was set fire and left a useless hulk.
The attacks were prompted by Saudi Arabia’s decision to execute Saudi Arabia’s senior Shiite cleric, Shaikh Nimr an-Nimr.
Talks were due to be held last March, but were canceled by Tehran after the Saudis executed dozens of Shiites that month. Iran, however, agreed to resume talks only a few weeks later, suggesting it really wanted to deal with Riyadh.
On May 24, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said there had been “some, but not enough” progress in the talks to date. “We continue to encourage our neighbors in Iran to lean into what can be a very, very important sea change in our region,” he said.
The talks first began in April of last year and moved through four scattered sessions without any indication of advancing on the issues. The talks so far have been held between representatives of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and Saudi Arabia’s Intelligence Ministry.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shifted his regional policy and paid a visit in April to Riyadh, indicating a desire to patch up relations with the Saudis. Erdogan earlier visited the UAE and Israel but has pointedly not visited Iran.