Iran FM Heads to Saudi for Talks on Gaza and Lebanon

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for discussions about stopping Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, according to Iran’s foreign ministry.

Hamas and Hezbollah are both part of the Iran-backed “Axis of Resistance” of militant groups in the region.

Araghchi’s visit to the Gulf kingdom is part of Iran’s diplomatic efforts, coordinated with regional countries, ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on X (formerly Twitter).

The visit aims to halt “the Israeli regime’s genocide and aggression” and reduce the suffering of people in Gaza and Lebanon, Baghaei added.

Relations between predominantly Shia Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia were restored in March 2023 after a China-brokered deal ended a seven-year diplomatic rift.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter and custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites, suspended U.S.-led negotiations on normalizing relations with Israel after the onset of the Gaza conflict.

Iran has repeatedly accused Israel, its longstanding rival, of committing genocide and war crimes since the beginning of the Gaza conflict.

During a visit to Beirut on Friday, after the conflict spread to Lebanon, Araghchi expressed Iran’s support for a “simultaneous” ceasefire in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Iran also described Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel as “a turning point in the history of the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel.”