Iran’s Interests Section office to open in Saudi city of Jeddah in near future

EghtesadOnline: The Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Swiss government have signed an agreement on the opening of the office of the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Saudi Arabia.

News ID: ۷۸۰۱۱۱

28 October 2017

The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s director general for the Persian Gulf, Mohammad Farazmand, and the Swiss ambassador to Tehran, Markus Leitner, signed the agreement in the Iranian capital on Wednesday.

Under the agreement, Switzerland will represent Iranian interests in Saudi Arabia, according to PressTV.

The office will open in the Saudi city of Jeddah in the near future after executive arrangements are made.

Meanwhile, the Swiss government also said it had finalized agreements to act as a go-between for Iran and Saudi Arabia, more than 20 months after the two Middle Eastern countries broke off diplomatic ties.

The Swiss government gave its approval to the arrangement at a meeting on Wednesday, with the mandate covering consular services for both nations.

“Switzerland has a long history of representing foreign interests whereby it covers partial consular services and sometimes diplomatic tasks for countries that have broken off relations, if requested by the states in question,” it said.

Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia first soured after a deadly human crush during Hajj rituals in Mina, near Mecca, in September 2015, when hundreds of Iranian pilgrims among others lost their lives.

Tensions between the two countries further escalated when the kingdom executed a prominent Shia cleric in January 2016.

Riyadh cut off ties with Tehran in January 2016 following protests in front of its diplomatic premises in the cities of Tehran and Mashhad against the execution.