From hostility to rapprochement: Timeline of Iran-Saudi Arabia ties

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% :1997: Saudi Crown Prince, Abdullah, visited Tehran for an Islamic summit in December 1997, becoming the first high-ranking Saudi government official to visit the Islamic Republic since 1979.
59% : In August 2017, Iran sent a batch of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for hajj, the first time in two years.
59% : In August 2018, Saudi Arabia allowed Iran to send a representative and establish an office that represents Iranian interests in the Arab country.
58% : On April 6, 2023, top diplomats of Iran and Saudi Arabia held a meeting in Beijing, the first such contact between the two foreign ministers in over seven years.
56% : In April 2021, Iran and Saudi Arabia held their first round of tension-easing talks mediated by Baghdad.
55% : In December, Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council called for good ties with Iran based on "non-interference in internal affairs".
55% : During the visit, he accepted an offer of mediation between Tehran and Riyadh from his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
52% : A month later, the Saudi Crown Prince, in his address to the United Nations, expressed hope that talks with Iran would bring "tangible outcome to build trust".2022: Before the fourth round of talks in May 2022, the process was briefly interrupted after reports emerged about mass executions in Saudi Arabia, including that of 41 Shias.
51% : In October 2019, Saudi Arabia asked Iraqi Premier, Adel Abdul Mahdi, to mediate a meeting between the representatives of Iran and Saudi Arabia in Baghdad.2020:
50% : In August 2021, foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia briefly met on the sidelines of the Baghdad summit.
50% : The visit, however, was overshadowed by a joint statement between China and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) that raised eyebrows in Tehran.
49% :2013: Tensions eased in the wake of the landmark interim nuclear agreement between Iran and the world's six major powers in November 2013 to limit Iran's nuclear activities.
48% : [Iranian Foreign Ministry - Anadolu Agency]After exactly two years of tension-easing talks that were marked by many ups and downs, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia met in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on Thursday.
48% :1991: Iran and Saudi Arabia restored their diplomatic ties after a rupture in 1987.
46% : In Shia-majority Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Iran were seen on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
45% :READ: Iran president accepts Saudi kings invitation to visit kingdom2016: Saudi Arabia executed nearly 50 dissidents, including prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr, on 2 January, 2016, which triggered angry protests in Iran.
44% :READ: Iran supreme leader: Israel wont survive another 25 years1990: Saudi Arabia sent shipments of aid to Iran following a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that jolted northern Iran on 21 June, 1990, killing almost 50,000 people.
43% : Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have traditionally been marked by tension and hostility, dating back to the 1979 Iranian revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy.
43% : In May 1984, Iran targeted a Saudi super tanker in regional waters after Iraq launched air raids on Iranian vessels.
43% : Iran denied involvement but Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility.
42% : Pre-1979: Iran and Saudi Arabia, the founder members of OPEC, an organisation of the leading oil-producing countries, shared shaky relations during the Pahlavi rule in Iran.
41% : Daesh claimed responsibility, but Iranian officials pointed the finger of blame at Riyadh for being "actively engaged" in supporting militants inside Iran.
40% : Tehran backed the anti-government protesters, while Riyadh strongly backed the Al-Khalifa government.
40% : In July 2019, Iran's Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, said Tehran is prepared for bilateral talks with Riyadh if they are ready for it, asserting that Tehran has "never closed the door to dialogue with neighbours".
39% : In Syria, the two countries again squared off, with Iran backing Bashar Al-Assad and Saudi Arabia supporting rebel groups.
39% : Riyadh called the evidence overwhelming, but Tehran said the report was fabricated to damage their ties.
37% : Following the revolution, when neighbours Iran and Iraq got embroiled in a protracted eight-year war, Saudi Arabia was seen quietly backing the Saddam Hussein government in Baghdad.
37% : Following the Arab Spring in 2011, tensions boiled again between the two sides, especially in Bahrain where Tehran supported anti-government protesters and Riyadh backed the Al-Khalifa government.
37% : After Hassan Rouhani's election in 2013, Iran again extended an olive branch to Saudi Arabia, but the efforts fell off as the two countries sparred over regional conflicts, particularly in Yemen and Syria.
36% :2003: US invasion of Iraq that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein allowed the country's Shia majority to reclaim the political ground, which contributed to tension between Tehran and Riyadh.
36% : Iran rejected the claim.
35% : In November 2022, amid the countrywide protests in Iran, Iranian Intelligence Minister, Esmail Khatib, warned Saudi Arabia against meddling in the country's internal affairs.
34% : Saudi Arabia sent troops to quell the anti-government uprising while accusing Iran of backing rebels.
34% :2018: Saudi Crown Prince, on March 29, 2018, called for more political and economic pressure on Iran "to avoid military conflict" in the region.
33% :2017: In May 2017, Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, in a televised interview said there is no space for dialogue with Iran, accusing it of ambitions to "control the Islamic world".
32% : More than 400 Iranian pilgrims died in the tragedy with Iran blaming the Saudi government for mismanagement.
32% : The office was set up in the Swiss Embassy.2019: Saudi Arabia accused Iran of attacks on its oil installations that brought to a standstill almost half of the country's oil supply.
31% : May 29, 2016: Iran announced a ban on its pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, accusing Saudi authorities of "sabotage" and failure to guarantee the safety of pilgrims.
31% : The same day, Iran's Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, struck a conciliatory tone, saying many regional countries came forward to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia and Tehran was open to dialogue.
30% : Iran abruptly pulled out without providing a reason.
29% : On 7 January, amid heightened tensions, Iran accused Saudi Arabia of launching air strikes on its embassy in Yemen, but Riyadh rejected the claim.
28% : In April 2018, the Saudi Crown Prince, during his visit to France, accused Iran of "supporting terrorism" in the region.
28% : In September of that year, the Saudi Crown Prince condemned Iran for spreading "chaos and extremism" in the region.2021:
26% :Four months later, after a prominent Saudi Shia cleric was executed, an angry mob stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran that prompted Riyadh to sever its diplomatic ties with Iran.
26% :October 2011: the US accused Iran of plotting to assassinate the Saudi envoy to Washington.
25% : Mobs attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad, following which Riyadh decided to sever its ties with Tehran.
19% : The eight-year war between Iran and Iraq, which broke out immediately after the Iranian revolution, ignited tensions between Tehran and Riyadh, as Iran saw Saudi Arabia backing Iraqi Premier Saddam Hussein, even though their official stance remained neutral.
18% : Angry protesters in Tehran stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, and Saudi's King Fahd severed diplomatic ties with Iran.
15% : In June 2020, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal, called on the international community to extend the arms embargo on Iran, describing Iran as a "grave danger".
13% : Following the hajj (pilgrimage) stampede in September 2015, when hundreds of Iranians were killed, Iran accused Saudi authorities of mismanagement while Riyadh, in turn, blamed Tehran for politicising the tragedy.

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