Saudi Humanitarian Initiative: Transporting Iranians from Sudan to Its Territory

Saudi Arabia assisted Iran in evacuating its citizens from Sudan today, Monday, demonstrating the rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran after years of conflict. The Saudi navy transported 65 Iranian nationals from Port Sudan to Jeddah, from where they will depart by air to Tehran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani described the transfer of Iranians as a "positive event" made possible by Saudi-Iranian cooperation. A senior Saudi military officer, Ahmed Al-Dabees, who oversaw the operation for the evacuees, stated that the two countries share bonds of friendship and brotherhood and that they should consider the Kingdom as their own country. It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran following Riyadh's execution of a Shia cleric.