News - Middle East: Iran’s foreign minister has received a message from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud addressed to President Ebrahim Raeisi.

The message was handed over to Hossein Amir-Abdollahian by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Tehran Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi during a meeting on Wednesday.

It was a response to Raeisi’s message on the developments in the Gaza Strip, where over two million Palestinians are living through a humanitarian catastrophe caused by a genocidal Israeli war.

It also included congratulatory notes from King Salam and Saudi Crown Province Mohammed bin Salman on the 45th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

During the meeting, Amir-Abdollahian voiced his satisfaction with the growing Iran-Saudi relations, hoping that the ties will develop in a balanced manner in all fields.

The top Iranian diplomat further said that enhanced bilateral cooperation benefits both countries and the entire region.

The Saudi envoy, for his part, stressed that Riyadh views its relations with Tehran as strategic not tactical.

Anzi also said that he is tasked with upgrading ties between the two countries in all sectors.

Additionally, the Saudi ambassador said he is pursuing the resumption of the Umrah flights and expressed hope for the resolution of technical problems preventing Iranians from making the year-round pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Last March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed under a Chinese-brokered deal to restore diplomatic relations severed in 2016.

In a joint statement after signing the pact, Tehran and Riyadh highlighted the need to respect each others’ national sovereignty and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of one another.

They agreed to implement a security cooperation 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.