Iran, Saudi Arabia foreign ministers hold landmark meeting in Beijing

Iran and Saudi Arabia's top diplomats have met in Beijing, the first official meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in more than seven years, CCTV news reported.

Saudi Arabia's state-run Al-Ekhbariya TV showed Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian shaking hands and sitting side by side during Thursday's meeting in the Chinese capital.

Iran's state TV said the two ministers met to discuss the details of reopening embassies.

In a joint statement following the meeting, Faisal bin Farhan and Amirabdollahian said that their agreement to normalise ties would help bring "security and stability" to the Middle East.

"The two sides emphasised the importance of following up on the implementation of the Beijing Agreement and its activation in a way that expands mutual trust and the fields of cooperation and helps create security, stability and prosperity in the region."

The meeting on Thursday came a month after the two countries agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies by May.

It also comes as diplomats have been trying to end a long war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply entrenched.

It was the first formal meeting of senior diplomats from the two nations since 2016, when the kingdom broke ties with Iran after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts there.

Saudi Arabia had executed a prominent Shia cleric with 46 others days earlier, triggering the violent demonstrations.

READ MORE: Top Saudi, Iranian diplomats to meet in China in bid to boost relations

President Xi Jinping recently helped broker a surprise deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Middle East rivals, last month to restore diplomatic ties, in a display of China's growing influence in the region which is being warily watched by the United States.

After years of hostility that had fuelled conflicts across the Middle East, Tehran and Riyadh agreed to end their diplomatic rift and re-open embassies in a major deal facilitated by China last month. 

Beijing's secret role in the breakthrough between Tehran and Riyadh shook up dynamics in the Middle East, where the United States was for decades the main mediator, flexing its security and diplomatic muscles.

Years of dispute

The relationship between Tehran and Riyadh had worsened since 2015, after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened in the war in Yemen, where the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels ousted a Saudi-backed government and took over the capital Sanaa.

For Saudi Arabia, the deal could mean improved security. The kingdom has blamed Iran for arming the Houthis who carried out missile and drone attacks on its cities and oil facilities.

In 2019, Riyadh blamed a massive attack on Aramco oil facilities, which knocked out half of its oil output, directly on the Islamic Republic.

Tehran denied those allegations.

READ MORE: Why are Iran and Saudi Arabia enemies?