The Saudi Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, expressed a condolences message to Iran’s Interim President Mohammad Mokhber over the martyrdom of the late President Raisi and his entourage during their phone call, vowing to continue fortifying bilateral ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, despite a year passing since the restoration of diplomatic ties, remain tense.
Efforts have been made through conversations and diplomatic channels but have failed to yield significant consensus between the two nations primarily due to ongoing regional conflicts and enduring distrust, especially concerning their allies and the situations in Yemen and Lebanon.
Amidst the Hamas-Israel war, both Saudi Arabia and Iran have shifted their relationship tone from outright antagonism to extreme caution.
The two countries have collaborated to prevent the conflict from expanding into a regional war, especially as attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Red Sea commercial shipping threatened to escalate tensions.
Furthermore, the two Middle East giants have been careful not to disrupt delicate peace talks aimed at ending the nine-year-old Yemeni civil war, which Saudi Arabia has been leading.