TEHRAN: Three Iranian diplomats have received visas from rival Saudi Arabia allowing them to take up posts at the headquarters of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, officials said Friday.

Shia-majority Iran and the Sunni Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both members of the pan-Islamic body, have held several rounds of talks since April aimed at improving relations. In 2016, the kingdom’s execution of revered Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr saw protesters attack Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. Riyadh responded at the time by cutting ties with Tehran, while OIC foreign ministers condemned the violence.

Riyadh and Tehran support opposite sides in several conflict zones across the region, but Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and officials in Saudi Arabia confirmed visas had been approved for the diplomats.

“Saudi Arabia has agreed to grant visas to three Iranian diplomats as part of a routine procedure for representatives of a member state of the OIC,” a Saudi foreign ministry official said Friday.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2021