A senior Saudi military officer talks about defence cooperation while visiting Iran

INN/Chennai, @Infodeaofficial

A major step in the defence ties between the two regional giants after their diplomatic rapprochement last year was taken when Saudi military General Chief of Staff Fayyad al-Ruwaili met with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran.

According to Iran’s Fars news agency, Xinhua news agency reported that Al-Ruwaili met with Mohammad Baqeri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, to discuss methods to improve military collaboration. During the meeting, Baqeri invited Saudi navy troops to take part in an Iranian maritime exercise that is scheduled for next year, either as observers or active participants.

“The exchange of such visits between our armed forces carries special importance for the region and Muslim world in the current circumstances,” Fars cited Baqeri as saying. Al-Ruwaili, who led a high-level military team to Tehran on Sunday, committed to strengthening bilateral military cooperation in a number of areas. The importance of their nations in promoting regional unity among Muslim governments was stressed by both authorities.

Fars claims that throughout the discussions, the Palestine problem was also covered. This high-level military action comes after a seven-year freeze in diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran was lifted in April 2023, facilitated by Beijing. In 2016, Riyadh broke off relations with Tehran when Iranian demonstrators stormed Saudi diplomatic posts after the kingdom executed a Shiite preacher.