Iran has reopened its embassy in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, after months of a Chinese-mediated agreement between the regional rivals to end their years-long animosity. The long-standing rivalry between the two major powers in the Middle East—Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia—has fueled conflicts across the region, including the wars in Yemen and Syria. The role played by Beijing in achieving a breakthrough between Tehran and Riyadh has changed the dynamics in a region where the United States has been the primary mediator for decades, relying on its security and diplomatic influence.
**1979 - Iranian Revolution**
Saudi leaders watched with great concern as the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown by Shia clerics whom Riyadh believed were determined to export their Islamic revolution.
**1980-1988 - Iran-Iraq War**
Iranians were outraged by Saudi support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, during which Baghdad employed chemical weapons.
**1987-1988 - Mecca**
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran suffered a severe blow in July 1987 when 402 pilgrims, including 275 Iranians, were killed during clashes in Mecca. Protesters in Tehran stormed the Saudi embassy and set fire to the Kuwaiti embassy. A Saudi diplomat died in Tehran from injuries sustained when he fell from the embassy window, and Riyadh accused Tehran of delaying his transfer to a hospital in Saudi Arabia. King Fahd cut relations with Iran in 1988, which were not restored until 1991.
**1997 - The Summit**
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah visited Iran in December for an Islamic summit, becoming the highest-ranking Saudi official to do so since the Islamic Revolution.
**1999 - Better Times**
Saudi King Fahd congratulated Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on his election victory in 2001, stating that it endorsed his reformist policies. Khatami had worked toward rapprochement with Riyadh after his sweeping first-term victory in 1997. Khatami visited the kingdom on his first trip of its kind since 1979. Relations improved under a security agreement established in April 2001.
**2003-2012 - Rising Tensions in the Region**
The US-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003 strengthened the position of the Shia majority in the country and shifted Iraq's political alignments in favor of Iran. The assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a close Saudi ally, in 2005 paved the way for a power struggle in Beirut, with Iran and its allies, including Syria, on one side and US-aligned Gulf states on the other. Lebanon increasingly fell under the influence of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, heavily armed. About 15 years later, a UN-backed court convicted three Hezbollah members in absentia for Hariri's murder. The party denied any role in the assassination and described the court as a tool of its enemies. The 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah heightened Saudi suspicions that Tehran was forging new alliances in the region threatening Riyadh's interests. Iran's controversial nuclear program deepened Saudi fears that Tehran, under the hardline nationalist successor to Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was intent on dominating the Gulf region. A leaked WikiLeaks cable revealed that Saudi King Abdullah told his diplomats in 2008 that he wanted the US to "cut off the head of the snake."
**2011 - Arab Spring**
Saudi Arabia watched anxiously as pro-democracy uprisings spread from Tunisia and Egypt to the Gulf. Protests in Bahrain were seen as a red line due to fears that the Shia majority there might gain power and ally with Iran. Saudi forces helped suppress the unrest in Bahrain at the request of the Sunni royal family. Saudi Arabia accused some Shia in its eastern region of colluding with a foreign power, Iran, to sow discord after clashes between police and Shia. The US announced it had uncovered an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Riyadh asserted that the evidence was unequivocal and that Tehran would pay the price. Iran rejected the report, describing it as fabricated to drive a wedge between Tehran and Riyadh.
**2011 - Syrian War and US-Iran Nuclear Talks**
Hassan Rouhani was elected president of Iran in June 2013, shifting Iran's foreign policy from confrontational to conciliatory. Iran reached a temporary agreement with major powers in November to limit its nuclear activities, and relations between Iran and most neighboring Gulf states improved. In December, the Gulf Cooperation Council led by Saudi Arabia called for cordial relations with Iran based on "non-interference in internal affairs." However, Iranian-Saudi relations remained stagnant, and their struggle for influence reflected in the Syrian civil war, where Riyadh was a leading supporter of the Sunni opposition against Syrian President Bashar Assad, a close ally of Tehran. In 2015, Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen at the head of a Western-backed coalition against the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement, which had ousted the internationally recognized government from the capital, Sanaa. The military situation in the war remained unchanged for years.
**2016 - Deterioration of Relations**
On January 2, 2016, Saudi Arabia executed approximately 50 people, including prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Protesters in Tehran stormed the Saudi embassy, and Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke of "divine revenge" for Nimr's execution. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran on January 3. Iran accused Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes on its embassy in Yemen on January 7. Saudi officials rejected this claim, calling it propaganda. On May 29, 2016, Iran banned its citizens from performing the Hajj pilgrimage, accusing Saudi Arabia of failing to ensure the safety of pilgrims.
**2019 to Present**
On September 14, 2019, Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for attacks on its oil facilities that halted half of the kingdom's supplies. Iran denied involvement while the Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks. On January 3, 2020, Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad. On April 9, 2021, Iran and Saudi Arabia held their first direct talks since the severing of relations, hosted by Baghdad. From April 2021 to September 2022, four rounds of talks occurred, mostly mediated by Iraq and Oman. Iran withdrew from the talks on March 13, 2022, ahead of the scheduled fifth round due to judicial rulings carried out by Saudi Arabia against several Shia individuals. Iran and Saudi Arabia conducted the fifth round of talks on April 21, 2022. On October 19, 2022, Khamenei's senior adviser called for the reopening of the Saudi and Iranian embassies. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the kingdom on December 9, 2022, and held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited China on February 16, 2023, to meet Xi. On March 11, 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore relations in a deal mediated by China. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran met in China on April 6, marking their first official meeting in over seven years.
