‘ABJECT FAILURE’ OF AMERICA THE WARMONGER PLAIN FOR THE WORLD TO SEE & JUDGE – TOP SAUDI & IRANIAN DIPLOMATS TO MEET IN CHINA – DECLARING ‘ERA OF U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN THE REGION IS OVER’ – AND EVEN ROBERT F. KENNEDY’S SON AGREES – ‘THE COLLAPSE OF U.S. INFLUENCE OVER SAUDI ARABIA & THE KINGDOM’S NEW ALLIANCES WITH CHINA & IRAN ARE PAINFUL EMBLEMS OF THE ABJECT FAILURE OF THE NEOCON STRATEGY OF MAINTAINING U.S. GLOBAL HEGEMONY WITH AGGRESSIVE PROJECTIONS OF MILITARY POWER’

Business, Politics | April 6, 2023 2:57 pm by | 0 Comments

Top Saudi, Iranian Diplomats To Meet In China: “Era Of US Involvement In Region Is Over”

A major meeting of top envoys from Saudi Arabia and Iran is expected to happen in Beijing on Thursday, as the next significant step in the China-brokered rapprochement and normalization of ties between the longtime enemies takes shape.As Reuters underscores, “The meeting between Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, will be the first formal meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iran’s most senior diplomats in more than seven years.”

*Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, via Reuters.*

A senior Iranian official also confirmed, “The top envoys agreed to meet on Apr. 6 in Beijing as the deal was facilitated by China.” On the agenda is expected to be the mutual reopening of embassies and appointment of ambassadors.

The most important, and illustrative of the way the geopolitical winds are blowing, is the following:

“The era of the United States’ involvement in this region is over… The regional countries are capable of preserving security and stability in the Middle East without Washington’s interference,” another Iranian official said.

On the issue of China, the powerful US rival, leading the way in brokering peace, Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awasat newspaper cited a source in Riyadh to say that choosing China as host country for the meeting “came as an extension of Beijing’s positive role in reaching the agreement and facilitating communication between the two countries.”

As for Tehran and Riyadh, not only has the regional rivalry, which intensified most during the decade of the proxy war in Syria which began in 2011, been set amid a centuries-long divide over correct interpretation of Islam (Shia Iran vs. Sunni Saudi Arabia), but it has also spilled over in places like Yemen, scene of another grinding proxy war which pit Shia rebels against a Saudi-backed government.

The collapse of U.S. influence over Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s new alliances with China and Iran are painful emblems of the abject failure of the Neocon strategy of maintaining U.S. global hegemony with aggressive projections of military power. China has displaced the…

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 4, 2023

The Saudis and Iranians also clash in supporting rival political factions inside Lebanon, with Tehran being the Shia paramilitary group Hezbollah’s biggest backer. For these reasons, accusations of supporting terrorism have been frequently hurled back-and-forth over the years. Iranian state media, for example, has long charged the Saudis with being a prime covert backer of the Islamic State (ISIS) in their drive to overthrow President Assad in Syria. ZERO HEDGE

Iran and Saudi Arabia ramp up reengagement

The long-time regional rivals have agreed to reopen embassies after a ministerial meeting in Beijing

The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia, two long-time regional rivals, have agreed to reopen their nations’ respective embassies and consulates during talks in China. Tehran and Riyadh made a surprise announcement on the normalization of diplomatic ties last month, with Beijing mediating the effort.

Iran’s Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Saudi Arabia’s Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met in the Chinese capital on Thursday, seeking to build on the momentum from the March 10 agreement.

A joint statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry detailed a number of measures, including the upcoming reopening of diplomatic missions. The Iranian ambassador to China told journalists that the embassies and consulates would open their doors “soon,” according to the Iranian news agency ISNA.

The two ministers also pledged to continue reengagement in other areas, including direct flights, issuing travel visas, commerce, and security cooperation. Iran and Saudi Arabia were described as “brotherly nations” in the statement. The ministers thanked China for hosting them and Switzerland for its role in representing the interests of the two nations.

The senior diplomats are also expected to make direct visits to each other’s countries as part of the restoration of bilateral ties. Earlier in the week, Tehran confirmed that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had accepted an invitation to come to Riyadh, which was extended by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.

Mohammad Keshavarzzadeh, the Iranian ambassador to China, assessed that Beijing’s diplomatic efforts to bring Iran and Saudi Arabia together were correcting “mistakes made by America.” Beijing may play a significant role in mediating the conflict in Ukraine, he added. RT

Saudi and Iranian Foreign Ministers meet in Beijing to discuss resumption of diplomatic ties

Hong KongCNN — Saudi Arabia’s and Iran’s Foreign Ministers met in Beijing on Thursday to discuss the resumption of bilateral relations following a landmark agreement mediated by China last month.

Iran’s Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud intended to take steps towards reopening embassies and consulates in their mutual countries, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its official Telegram channel.

Delegations headed by the two foreign ministers met for “expanded” bilateral talks to discuss “important issues,” and were expected to release a bilateral statement in the coming hours, according to Saudi state media.

Video released by Saudi state media on Thursday showed the two ministers joining hands while posing for photos, encouraged by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang who was standing in the middle.

The meeting is the highest-level bilateral gathering of officials from Iran and Saudi Arabia in more than seven years and comes after they agreed to reestablish diplomatic ties following talks in Beijing in March.

At the time, Riyadh and Tehran said they planned to reopen their embassies within two months.

They also announced the intention to reimplement a security pact signed 22 years ago under which both parties agreed to cooperate on terrorism, drug-smuggling and money-laundering, as well as to revive a trade and technology deal from 1998.

The development was broadly seen as a diplomatic victory for China in a Gulf region that has long been considered part of the US’ domain of influence.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi called the agreement a “victory for dialogue and a victory for peace,” and framed it as part of China’s “constructive role in facilitating the proper settlement of hot-spot issues around the world,” according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry at the time.

Riyadh severed ties with Tehran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in the Iranian capital following the execution of a Shi’ite cleric in Saudi Arabia. Since then, they have fought a proxy war that has embroiled a number of neighboring countries, bringing the region ever closer to conflict.

The two countries have also supported opposite sides of a civil war in Yemen, which has been described by the United Nations as one the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Saudi Arabia has, however, been engaged in direct talks with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, and an unofficial ceasefire appears to be holding. CNN

ZERO HEDGE / RT.COM / CNN