There is a constant movement outside the Iranian embassy in Saudi Arabia, preparing for the reopening of its doors this evening. One of the first announcements was that procedures for Iranian pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia had begun, thus completing a history of diplomatic relations that dates back to 1930, fluctuating between "appointment" and "suspension." During the reign of Iranian President Reza Pahlavi, specifically on March 21, 1930, Habibullah Ain Al-Malik was appointed as the ambassador to Lebanon, Jordan, and the Hijaz (later Saudi Arabia). In 1934, the Iranian ambassador to Egypt, Mohammad Ali Moqaddam, was recognized in Jeddah during the reign of Saudi King Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The year 1944 saw tensions in relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, leading to a diplomatic break until 1948. In 1949, with the resumption of relations between the two countries, Iran appointed Abdolhossein Esfandiari as its ambassador residing in Saudi Arabia.
Hussein Diba was appointed on August 15, 1954, as an ambassador but under the title of Minister Plenipotentiary in Saudi Arabia, followed by Mahmoud Salahi (1954), Ziaoddin Gharib (1957), Afrasiab Nowayi (1961), Ali Assemi, and Mohammad Faridani (1966), Mohammad Gavam (1971), and Jafar Ra'ed (1972). In 1979, the Iranian Islamic Revolution occurred, leading to the end of Pahlavi's rule, and no new ambassador was appointed to Saudi Arabia until 1983, when Iranian President Ali Khamenei appointed Alireza Boroujerdi as acting representative in Jeddah, followed by Hussein Sadeghi (1983), Seyed Mojtaba Hashemi (1984), and Parviz Afshari (1987).
In 1988, Riyadh announced the severing of ties with Tehran until Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani appointed Ambassador Mohammad Hossein Tarami in 1994, followed by Mohammad Reza Noori Shahroodi (1995) and Ali Asghar Khaji (2000) during President Mohammad Khatami's tenure, and then Hussein Sadeghi again in 2004.
During President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's time, Mohammad Hosseini (2006) and Mohammad Javad Rasouli Mahlashi (2008) were appointed. Under President Hassan Rouhani, Hussein Sadeghi was appointed ambassador on August 1, and the attack on Saudi missions in Iran led to the announcement of Saudi Arabia cutting ties between the two countries in 2016. During Rouhani's tenure, a section for maintaining Iranian interests in Saudi Arabia was established at the Swiss consulate in Jeddah in 2017. On March 10, 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran published a joint statement regarding the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two parties.
Finally, Tehran appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Reza Enayati as its new ambassador to Saudi Arabia after more than two months since the announcement of the resumption of relations between the two countries.
