The United States has long encouraged direct dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran and welcomes the recent deal between to re-establish ties between the two countries, a White House official pointed out on Friday.
Per the National Security Council (NSC) official cited by Al Arabiya English, it’s as if what was discussed between Riyadh and Tehran over multiple rounds of talks in Baghdad and Muscat in 2021/2022 is implemented in the roadmap they announced Friday.
The NSC official underscored the United States had long encouraged direct dialogue and diplomacy to help reduce tensions and risks of conflict in the region.
In line with that roadmap, Saudi Arabia and Iran will restore diplomatic ties, reopen embassies, and exchange ambassadors within two months after Riyadh severed ties with Iran following the 2016 attacks on two of its diplomatic posts in Tehran and Mashhad.
They also vowed to activate a security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and the trade, economy, and investment agreement signed in 1998.
Noting that Washington welcomes any efforts to help de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region and end the war in Yemen, the National Security Council official stressed that President Biden outlined last year the de-escalation and diplomacy together with deterrence as key pillars of his policy for the region.
However, behind the public support, some experts – such as the West Coast coordinator for the ANSWER Coalition, Richard Becker – remarked that the historic Saudi-Iranian agreement will prove to be a serious concern for the US considering the fact that Washington has long sought to ensure Tehran remains isolated in the Middle East.
According to Becker, the fact that it was China – that the United States leaders are targeting as their main enemy in the world- that brokered the deal is adding even more salt in the wound for the US.
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