Saudi Arabia's consulate general in Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad has officially started activities, months after the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations under a China-brokered deal.
Head of the representative office of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Khorasan Razavi, Mohammad Beheshti Monfared, said on Sunday the mission launched its diplomatic work in one hotel in the holy city of Mashhad as its temporary site.
He said Saudi Arabia's consulate general in Mashhad has announced the resumption of its work from August 13 via an official note sent to the representative office.
The Saudi embassy in Tehran has also officially begun its work, reciprocating Tehran’s re-opening of its embassy in Riyadh in June.
In May, Iran appointed senior diplomat Alireza Enayati as its ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Tehran also re-opened its embassy in Riyadh and its consulate in the port city of Jeddah in June.
On March 10, after several days of intensive negotiations hosted by China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties and reopen embassies seven years after their relations were severed.
In a joint statement after signing the agreement, Tehran and Riyadh highlighted the need to respect national sovereignty of one another and refrain from interfering in the domestic affairs of each other.
They agreed to implement a security interaction agreement signed in April 2001 and another accord reached in May 1998 to boost economic, commercial, investment, technical, scientific, cultural, sports, and youth affairs cooperation.