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Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Sunday, March 19, 2023
Iran’s Raisi ‘welcomes’ invitation to visit by Saudi king, says official
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addresses lawmakers while defending his next year's budget bill at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, January 22, 2023. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has “welcomed” an invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to visit the kingdom following the reconciliation deal between the two countries, an Iranian official says.
“In a letter to President Raisi… the King of Saudi Arabia welcomed the deal between the two brotherly countries (and) invited him to Riyadh,” tweets Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, adding that “Raisi welcomed the invitation.”
The two regional heavyweights announced on March 11 a Chinese-brokered deal to restore ties nearly seven years after they were severed.
