Gaza stance helps Iran-Saudi Arabia ties become closer

The two Muslim countries, after years of hostility, restored diplomatic relations in March in a deal brokered by China, The New York Times reported. But it remains unclear whether the change will lead to a reduction in longstanding tensions between Saudi Arabia’s Sunni monarchy and Iran’s Shiite government.

However, Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip appears to have accelerated warmer relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, moving toward the possibility of normalizing relations.

President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Riyadh marks the first time an Iranian president has visited Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed the Iranian president.

The two leaders also spoke by phone for the first time just days after the October 7 incident. The Hamas-Israel conflict erupted and escalated on October 7 when Hamas forces unexpectedly infiltrated and attacked Israeli territory. Tel Aviv then launched an offensive and blockade of Gaza, causing the humanitarian situation in the strip to rapidly deteriorate.

The Gaza Health Authority said on November 10 that since the Hamas-Israel conflict broke out more than a month ago, the number of Palestinians killed has now risen to 11,078. Meanwhile, on the same day, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman revised the number of Israelis killed in the conflict down to 1,200 from the previous announcement of 1,400.

The November 11 summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is an emergency joint meeting that combines two events - the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit and the Arab League (AL) summit. This joint conference brings together leaders of Arab and Muslim countries, including Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, Syria and Iran.

Countries attending the conference called for an arms embargo on Israel and said regional peace could not be achieved without resolving the Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution.

After the Saudi and Iranian leaders finished their speeches, they left the main hall for a bilateral meeting.

Kristin Diwan, an associate professor at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said Saudi Arabia's close consultations with Iran showed Riyadh knew that cooperation with Tehran was necessary to prevent the conflict from spreading.