Iran Air Resumes Crucial Flights to Saudi Arabia

Iran Air restarted flights between Mashhad and Dammam, marking improved relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia after nine years. The flights facilitate visits to the Imam Reza Shrine and are held twice a week. The resumption follows restored diplomatic ties brokered by China in 2023.

In a significant diplomatic development, Iran Air has resumed its flights connecting Mashhad and Dammam after nine years, signaling an improvement in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reports the move may aid the travel of Saudi Arabia's Shi'ite minority to the revered Imam Reza Shrine located in Mashhad.

Upon the arrival of the first resumed flight, representatives from Iran's embassy, Iran Air, and Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation were present to emphasize the importance of easing personal travel between the two nations. The flight service, scheduled for twice a week, follows a similar resumption of pilgrimages by Iranian nationals to Mecca in April.

This development comes in the wake of a March 2023 agreement to re-establish bilateral relations, mediated by China, after years of tension that affected regional stability in the Gulf. Diplomatic ties were severed in 2016 after an attack on the Saudi embassy in Iran amid disputes over the execution of a Shi'ite cleric by Riyadh.

(With inputs from agencies.)