Pilgrims congregate at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, the capital of Khorassan-e Razavi province in northeastern Iran, on October 1, 2023. AFP File Photo
Iran Air restarted flights between Mashhad in northeastern Iran and Dammam in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, after a nine-year suspension, according to the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA). This move signifies a thaw in relations between the Middle Eastern adversaries. The resumption allows Saudi Arabia's Shia community to visit the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city.
ISNA reported that a deputy from Iran's embassy, a representative of Iran Air, and officials from Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation greeted arriving passengers in Dammam, emphasizing the importance of facilitating travel between the two nations. The twice-weekly round flights follow the first group of Iranian pilgrims visiting Mecca in Saudi Arabia for umrah in April, also after a nine-year hiatus.
In March 2023, Riyadh and Tehran agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties following Chinese mediation, ending years of hostility that had destabilized the Gulf region and exacerbated conflicts from Yemen to Syria. Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in 2016 after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was attacked amid a dispute over Riyadh's execution of a Shia cleric. Dammam, the capital of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, is home to a significant Shia population.
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