Relationships between Iran and Saudi Arabia: Thanks to Beijing, Tehran, and Riyadh were able to come to an agreement over energy issues.
On March 10, 2023, a significant rapprochement between two distant powers—Iran and Saudi Arabia, who are historic rivals and two of the world's largest oil producers and who have taken opposing positions on a wide range of issues and are politically divided—took place. It was an unexpected development in a contentious relationship marked by ideological, spiritual, and sectarian disagreements that brought together a fragmented Islamic world with numerous divisions. There is now a fusion of interests. It has taken time to create the essence. Initial negotiations took place in Oman and Iraq in April 2020. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi facilitated five rounds before Iraqi politics got in the way. In October 2022, Kadhimi left office, and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had little interest in carrying on Iraq's mediation efforts. The Saudis did not trust him as much as they did his predecessor. When President Xi Jinping visited Riyadh in December 2022, Saudi Arabia requ...