\n Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for talks that were expected to cover efforts to end fighting between the Israeli military and Iran-backed groups in Gaza and Lebanon.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"I hope that these consultations can lead to better conditions for Palestine and Lebanon and establish peace in the region,\" Araghchi told Iranian state television upon his arrival in Riyadh.\n<\/p>\n
\n Israel has been waging a year-long war against Hamas in Gaza that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, began firing on northern Israel in the wake of that attack, and since last month Israel has significantly ramped up its strikes targeting Hezbollah leaders and infrastructure.\n<\/p>\n
\n Both Hamas and Hezbollah are part of Iran's \"axis of resistance\" of militant groups in the region.\n<\/p>\n
\n Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on X that Araghchi's visit would focus on stopping \"the Israeli regime's genocide & aggression\" and aimed to \"alleviate the pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters in Gaza and Lebanon\".\n<\/p>\n
\n The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that Araghchi met with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.\n<\/p>\n
\n He also met his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, to discuss \"developments in the region\", SPA said, without providing details.\n<\/p>\n
\n Araghchi's visit to Saudi Arabia comes as the region awaits Israel's response to an Iranian missile attack on its territory last week.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Saudi will confirm that it will not allow any party to use its airspace to attack the other and will also agree to any call for a ceasefire in Lebanon or Gaza,\" Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the government, told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n In Beirut on Friday, Araghchi said Tehran supports efforts for a \"simultaneous\" ceasefire in Lebanon and the Palestinian territory.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Islamic republic called Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel \"a turning point in the history of the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel\".\n<\/p>\n
\n - Restored ties -\n<\/p>\n
\n Shiite-dominated Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia resumed relations in March 2023 under a surprise China-brokered deal following a seven-year rupture.\n<\/p>\n
\n Iran has repeatedly accused its arch-foe Israel of committing genocide and war crimes since the Gaza war began.\n<\/p>\n
\n Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter and custodian of Islam's two holiest sites, paused US-brokered talks on recognising Israel after the Gaza war broke out.\n<\/p>\n
\n Saudi officials said they wanted a pathway towards a Palestinian state as a condition of normalisation.\n<\/p>\n
\n But last month, the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, toughened his tone, explicitly saying that an \"independent Palestinian state\" was necessary.\n<\/p>\n
\n Since the March 2023 Iranian-Saudi rapprochement was announced, the regional powers have intensified their contacts despite supporting different camps in several conflicts, most notably in Syria and Yemen.\n<\/p>\n
\n The two exchanged ambassadors and visits of foreign ministers before the late Ebrahim Raisi made the first visit by an Iranian president to the kingdom in 20 years to attend a joint Arab-Islamic summit to discuss the Gaza war last November.\n<\/p>\n
\n In August, Ali Bagheri, then Iran's acting foreign minister, visited Jeddah for an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.\n<\/p>\n
\n Araghchi assumed the post of Iranian foreign minister later in August.\n<\/p>\n
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\n AXIS CAPITAL HOLDINGS\n<\/p>\n
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\n CROWN HOLDINGS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for talks that were expected to cover efforts to end fighting between the Israeli military and Iran-backed groups in Gaza and Lebanon. \"I hope that these consultations can lead to better conditions for Palestine and Lebanon and establish peace in the region,\" Araghchi told […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-136870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n