What Are Undisclosed Details Of Saudi-Iran Agreement In China?
Negotiations between Iran’ Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State and National Security Adviser Musaed Bin Mohammed Al-Aiban in Beijing, China, Riyadh and Tehran signed an agreement to restore diplomatic ties.
Following Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to China in February and his talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the finalization of the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran was cemented. After the February consensus, Shamkhani left Tehran for Beijing on March 6 in order to carry out intensive talks with Al-Aiban. The two counterparts held negotiations to restore political relationship as well as resolve security and regional issues, but there have not been released the details of the talks in official sources. The agreement was declared on March 10, when China, Saudi Arabia and Iran issued a joint statement and signed the deal.
What was the other states’ reaction to Saudi-Iran deal?
The authorities of both Saudi Arabia and Iran as well as the most states in the West Asia region and the world welcomed the agreement and described it as a prelude to resolution of other disputes and regional issues, including the Yemen war.
Meanwhile, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the US National Security Council John Kirby told correspondents that Saudi Arabia informed the United States of the talks with Iran, but Washington did not play any role in the negotiations. Kirby also adopted a hostile stance, when he said we should wait and see if Iran would respect the other side of the deal or not!
Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement Hassan Nasrallah depicted the agreement as an important development in the region, which will promise new horizons in the region and Lebanon.
Mohammad Abdul Salam, spokesman of Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, who is in charge of negotiations of the National Salvation government, said that restoration of natural relations among regional states is necessary, noting that lack of security has its roots in foreign interventions in particular by the US and the Israeli regime. He said that Iranophobia project is in line with foreigners’ interests, who want to misuse internal rifts to create conflict and aggression in Yemen.
China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement, announcing that the Iran-Saudi Arabia agreement is a victory for peace.
What are the benefits of the deal for China?
China could gain more credit at international arena and showed that it is a superpower in rivalry with the US after hosting the negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. They also underlined that the United States’ policies and supports for Arab countries are inefficient. As part of its foreign policy, China has not been involved in hard competition with ultra-regional powers in any dispute so far, and the issue has been shown in the Ukraine war and the dispute with Taiwan, but their involvement in the Saudi-Iran agreement indicates that they pursue a special engagement in the West Asia region and they want to adopt soft competition and semi-hard competition with the US.
On the other hand, the resolution of conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran would guarantee oil and other raw materials required by China.
What are the potential and undisclosed aspects of the deal?
Undoubtedly, the recent agreement between Riyadh and Tehran to restore relationship is a positive news for both countries and the West Asia region. It seems that Saudi Arabia has reached to the conclusion after eight years of war with Yemen that it cannot dominate a popular government and force by resorting to the most advanced and best Western and Eastern military equipment. The Saudis were of the opinion in the beginning of the war on Yemen that the Ansar Allah movement is a militia group, which would be weakened and forced to succumb following some classic operations and aerial bombardment, but the military and political support by Iran along with popular backing of people residing in western provinces of Yemen led to the consolidation of the National Salvation government and the preservation of strategic lands of the Arab country under the rule of Islamic resistance axis. Therefore, Saudi Arabia’s defeat in the war on Yemen is the main reason behind the Saudi’s intention to the negotiating table.
Given the significant role by Iran in Yemen’s developments, it is expected that the peace negotiations in the war-torn country would reach more important results in the coming months. The deployment of foreign forces in different regions and bases inside Yemen, the activities of the separatist groups such as the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and the ISIS, as well as the dependence of anti-Ansar Allah movement factions to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are expected to be the potential hurdles in the formation of peace in Yemen.
Another issue, which can be mentioned as one of security aspects of the Saudi-Iran deal, is security threats and media activities of both sides against each other. Over the last years, Saudi-funded media apparatus established anti-Iran research centers such as Rasana and Iran International TV network in order to create propaganda campaign, which was along with fomenting unrest in Iran by the West. Seemingly, Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached agreements in this respect, but the details of the accords have not been announced yet.
In a bigger picture at the current regional and international levels, Iran has been facing more harsh tensions and threats by the Western states and Israel on its nuclear dossier and its regional influence comparing to the circumstances in the past years. The expansion of the Zionist regime’s influence in security periphery of Iran, the exacerbation of economic sanctions imposed by Europe, numerous military drills by the US and Israel as well as their joint threats against Iran’s nuclear and defense facilities are all among the West’s new plots against the Islamic Republic. Of course, Saudi Arabia showed via signing the agreement that it intends to get rid of potential Iranian response to the Western states’ strikes and it tries not to turn into a possible battle ground for potential future confrontation between the West and Iran.
In conclusion, the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran should be viewed as a mid-term ceasefire. The Saudis’ strategic measures and projects in the Central Asian states and in Azerbaijan Republic can violate Iran’s interests and security, and despite China’s assurances, there is not any guarantee for their sincerity in dealing with the Iranians.
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