Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to attend summit in Saudi next week

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia for a summit on Sunday where he will address the war between Israel and Hamas, sources familiar with the matter told AFP. 

The visit will be Raisi’s first trip to the Gulf Kingdom since the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations after seven years of severed ties, a deal brokered by China and announced in March.

The summit which will be attended by Raisi is being organised by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a Jeddah-based 57-member bloc consisting majority of Muslim countries.

It is planned to take place one day after an emergency meeting of Arab League leaders on the war, also in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

“President Raisi will attend the summit of the OIC in Riyadh,” the source familiar with planning for the summit told AFP on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss the plans with the media.

The OIC has been vocal about Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza following Hamas’ all-out onslaught against the Jewish nation on October 7.

Last month, Iran’s Raisi and Saudi’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a phone call where both of them extended support to Palestine and discussed the “need to end war crimes against Palestine,” according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.

Iran has long provided financial and military support for Hamas.

Saudi officials are deeply worried about a possible widening of the war that could derail Prince Mohammed’s sweeping Vision 2030 reform agenda intended to transition the world’s biggest crude oil exporter away from fossil fuels.

With inputs from AFP