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The meeting comes while the region prepares for incoming US President Donald Trump to take office.
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN NOVEMBER 11, 2024 15:40 Updated: NOVEMBER 11, 2024 15:47
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
(photo credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/Maxim Shemetov/Via CANVA)
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a phone call to discuss Iran-Saudi Arabia relations. The two spoke on Sunday evening. The Iranian president said he would be unable to attend a joint meeting of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Monday, November 11. The Iranian president claimed he has a busy schedule, according to Iranian state media IRNA.
The decision not to attend the important meeting is interesting. One would have assumed that Iran would want its top leader at the meeting if only to use the meeting to rally support against Israel. Saudi Arabia has been very critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon. Saudi Arabia wants to use the meeting to showcase its leadership of the Arab and Muslim world.
“Pezeshkian said that his Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref will be attending the meeting, expressing assurance that the gathering, thanks to the prudence of the Saudi crown prince, will produce tangible results aimed at halting the Zionist regime’s crimes in Gaza and Lebanon,” Iranian media said. “Referring to the determination of Iranian and Saudi officials, President Pezeshkian expressed hope that ties between the two countries are further developed.”
The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince said he understood that Pezeshkian would not attend and wished Iran success.
“Ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia are now at a historic turning point, bin Salman said, expressing hope that the bilateral relations are promoted to their highest level,” IRNA reported.
The Crown Prince invited Pezeshkian to visit Saudi Arabia at a later date. China has helped broker Saudi-Iran reconciliation in the past years. “Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has left Tehran for Riyadh to take part in the joint summit of the Arab League and OIC, which is aimed at bringing an end to the Israeli regime's atrocities in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon,” Iranian state media reported on November 11.
Ending ongoing war in Lebanon and Gaza
He flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday. “Before departing for Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, Aref said that the event aims primarily to help put an end to the ongoing war and bloodshed in Lebanon and Palestine,” IRNA reported. Representatives from more than 50 countries are arriving in Riyadh for the meeting.
The meeting comes while the region prepares for incoming US President Donald Trump to take office. In May 2017, US President Donald Trump took part in an Arab-Islamic-American summit in Saudi Arabia. Arab leaders such as MBS and Mahmoud Abbas have spoken with Trump since he won the election on November 5.
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