THE China-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to normalise diplomatic relations has been widely hailed, with global leaders and international media calling it a positive development.

While talking to reporters, US President Joe Biden on Friday said, “Better relations between Israel and their Arab neighbours are better for everybody.”

White House Spokesperson John Kirby the US was kept ‘in the loop’ by the Saudi official.

“The Saudis did keep us informed about these talks that they were having, just as we keep them informed on our engagements, but we weren’t directly involved,” he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the deal and praised China, Oman and Iraq for promoting the talks. “Good neighbourly relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia are essential for the stability of the Gulf region,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his readiness to use his good offices to further advance regional dialogue to ensure durable peace and security in the Gulf region,” he said.

Opposition leaders in Israel – the staunchest rival of Iran in the region – have called the deal a ‘failure of Israel’s foreign policy’.

It is “a total and dangerous foreign policy failure of the Israeli government,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Twitter, echoing the sentiments of other key opponents.

“It’s a collapse of the regional defence wall that we began to build against Iran,” Lapid continued.

Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said, “We welcome the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume diplomatic relations, and we hail the Chinese role in this regard,” he tweeted.

“The UAE believes in the importance of positive communication and dialogue among the countries of the region towards consolidating the concepts of good neighbourliness and starting from a common ground to build a more stable future for all.”

Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who also acts as foreign minister, called the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia to welcome the deal.

Iraq welcomed the agreement, saying the move would turn a new leaf in relations between the regional heavyweights.

“A new page has been opened in diplomatic relations between the two countries,” the Iraqi foreign ministry said.

Iraq had hosted several rounds of reconciliation talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia since April 2021.

The head of Hezbollah called the resumption of ties a “good development”.

Analysts have also hailed the deal, calling it ‘very positive news for the region’.

“It’s hugely positive news,” senior Gulf analyst Anna Jacobs was quoted as saying by CNBC. She said the agreement signals that there has been enough dialogue “to start some serious confidence-building measures and agree to this roadmap to restore full diplomatic relations. The news also suggests we are likely to see some positive movement on the Yemen ceasefire.”The development “shows that Saudi-Iran dialogue has succeeded after many years, and it’s succeeded with support from regional powers like Iraq and Oman, but also global powers like China,” she said.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2023