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Flights resume between Iran's Mashhad and Saudi's Dammam as tensions ease

The resumption opens the way for Saudi Arabia's Shia minority to visit the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad

Published: Tue 3 Dec 2024, 5:09 PM

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  • Reuters

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Pilgrims gather at shrine of Imam Reza in the city of Mashhad, the capital of the province of Khorassan-e Razavi in northeastern Iran, on October 1, 2023. AFP File Photo

Pilgrims gather at shrine of Imam Reza in the city of Mashhad, the capital of the province of Khorassan-e Razavi in northeastern Iran, on October 1, 2023. AFP File Photo

Iran Air on Tuesday resumed flights between Mashhad in the northeast of the country and Dammam in Saudi Arabia after a nine year hiatus, the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reported, in a sign of improving relations between the Middle Eastern rivals.

The resumption opens the way for Saudi Arabia's Shia minority to visit the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, Iran's second most populous city.

"A deputy from Iran's embassy, the representative of Iran Air and representatives from Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation welcomed arriving passengers in Dammam and stressed the need to facilitate the movement of people between the two countries," ISNA said.

The round flight, which is meant to take place twice a week, comes after the first group of Iranian pilgrims flew to Mecca in Saudi Arabia in April to do umrah, also after a nine year hiatus.

In March 2023, Riyadh and Tehran agreed to re-establish relations after Chinese intermediation, following years of hostility that threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria.

Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016 after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute over Riyadh's execution of a Shia cleric.

Dammam is the capital of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, a region with a sizable Shia minority.



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