Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to reopen embassies, resume flights in China-brokered thaw

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

54% : The foreign minister of Saudi Arabia and Iran met in Beijing on Thursday and agreed to restore flights between the two longtime Middle East rivals, resume bilateral governmental and business visits, and begin preparations for reopening embassies and consulates in each other's country for the first time since 2016, according to a joint statement.
51% : China, unlike the U.S., has diplomatic ties with Iran as well as Saudi Arabia.
49% : The meeting between Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Iran's Hossein Amir-Abdollahian 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," in response to Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, The Associated Press reports.
49% : Since the Chinese-brokered detente was announced, "Saudi Arabia has also neared an agreement to restore diplomatic ties with Syria, which embraced Iran over the past decade of civil war," The Wall Street Journal reports.
45% : Tehran and Riyadh restored diplomatic relations in March, in a deal brokered by China.
43% : Iran benefits from the thaw because it eases the country's global isolation after brutal crackdowns on recent protests and the collapse of efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
34% : CIA Director William Burns, in an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia this week, "expressed frustration with the Saudis," telling "Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the U.S. has felt blindsided by Riyadh's rapprochement with Iran and Syria," the Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

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