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By Matt Surman and Vivian Nereim
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for a summit on the Gaza war, the first since the regional rivals agreed earlier this year to repair diplomatic relations after years of hostility.
Saudi Arabia had scheduled two summits for this weekend, one for members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and one for the Arab League. But on Saturday, they met only once. Representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq also attended. You are expected to attend.
The leaders, who are concerned that the unrest will spread to the region, are expected to call for an early ceasefire in Gaza and the provision of more desperately needed humanitarian aid, as well as the resumption of peace talks for a lasting solution.
The war erupted with an Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian armed organization that controls Gaza, that killed about 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials. Since then, Israel has bombarded Gaza with thousands of airstrikes, laid siege to the territory by cutting off water, food, fuel and other necessities, and introduced a ground invasion. The war has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians, many of them young people and women, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Raisi’s follows a significant turning point in March, when Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reopen their embassies to each other and revive a security pact as part of a deal negotiated through China.
The rivalry for dominance between the two Middle Eastern powers has long shaped regional politics and trade. This has most commonly manifested itself in proxy conflicts in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, where Iran has subsidized militias that Saudi officials say have destabilized the region.
Raisi was due to address the Saudi summit and met with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, on the sidelines, Iranian state media reported.
Vivian Nereim is the head of the Gulf Bureau. She has more than a decade of experience in the Arabian Peninsula and was previously a Bloomberg News reporter covering Saudi Arabia. Find out more about Vivian Neréim
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