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Iran, Saudi military officials meet for 1st time since détente, agree on exchanging attachés

Frame grab from video provided by IRNA on August 16, 2023, shows Deputy of Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh (R), and Saudi Assistant Defense Minister Talal bin Abdullah al-Otaibi, shaking hands on the sidelines of the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security.

Iran and Saudi Arabian military officials have met for the first time since a China-brokered détente enabled the resumption of the countries' diplomatic relations, agreeing on exchanging of military attachés between the two sides.

The relations were severed by Saudi Arabia in January 2016, after Iranian protesters, angered by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi government, stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran.

Back in March, however, the two sides clinched the reconciliation deal after several days of intensive negotiations hosted by Beijing, and three months later, each side appointed a new ambassador to the other's capital.

On Wednesday, IRNA reported taking place of the first meeting since the rapprochement between an Iranian military official and a Saudi Arabian one.

According to the report, the meeting took place between the Deputy of Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, and Saudi Assistant Defense Minister Talal bin Abdullah al-Otaibi on the sidelines of the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security.

The meeting featured agreement between the two sides on exchanging military attachés "as soon as possible," the report said.

'Roadmap on military cooperation'

Also during the meeting, the officials laid emphasis on the two sides' "will for operationalization" of the reconciliation agreement.

They considered the agreement to be in line with the interests of both Tehran and Riyadh and other countries of the region and the Muslim world.

The Iranian and Saudi officials also stressed the significance of the role that is played by the countries' armed forces towards proper implementation of the détente.

Accordingly, they called it important for the countries to keep up their relevant negotiations and endeavor towards "attainment of the proper roadmap in the field."

Many local and regional officials have underscored the historical nature of the rapprochement and its importance to the frustration of Iranophobic plots and smear campaigns that have been led against the Islamic Republic and its goodwill approach towards the countries of the region.


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