TEHRAN

Iran reopened its consulate in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, months after the two regional rivals restored diplomatic ties after a seven-year gap.

“The diplomatic mission was reopened in a ceremony attended by a number of Iranian and Saudi officials,” the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday.

Iran also reopened its permanent representative office to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah.

On Tuesday, Iran officially opened its embassy in the capital, Riyadh, with the participation of Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Reza Bekdli.

The two Persian Gulf neighbors agreed to revive ties in March after two years of marathon talks brokered by Iraq and Oman. The breakthrough finally came in Beijing.

The agreement was followed by a high-profile meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in April, who formally agreed to reopen diplomatic missions in the two countries.

In the last few months, multiple delegations have exchanged visits to prepare for the formal reopening of diplomatic missions. Saudi Arabia is also reportedly set to reopen its diplomatic missions in Iran.

Late last month, Iran appointed senior diplomat Alireza Enayati its new ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Iran has in recent months stepped up efforts to normalize or upgrade diplomatic ties with regional countries in line with the Ebrahim Raisi government's “neighborhood-centric" foreign policy.

The rapprochement with Saudi Arabia has also paved the way for efforts to resume Tehran’s ties with Bahrain and Egypt, two key Saudi allies.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara