Saudi military chief to visit Tehran for talks on defense cooperation, Iranian media reports

The general chief of staff of Saudi Arabia’s armed forces, Fayyad al-Ruwaili, will visit Tehran later today to meet with his Iranian counterpart and discuss defense ties, state media reports the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff as saying.

The visit follows the election of Donald Trump, who will take office for a second term as US president in January and who has promised to bring peace to the Middle East.

During his first term, Trump initiated the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states including the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.

Saudi Arabia has not established ties with Israel despite the efforts of President Joe Biden’s administration over the last four years. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has also discussed the possibility with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman multiple times over the last years, a source familiar with the discussions tells Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Iran’s state media says al-Ruwaili will head a high-level Saudi military delegation in Tehran, meet Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, and discuss bilateral and defense ties.

State media added that Bagheri held a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud last year to discuss regional developments and improve defense cooperation between the two countries.

Tehran and Riyadh agreed in March 2023, via Chinese intermediation, to re-establish relations after seven years of hostility.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.