The agreement brokered was seen as a major diplomatic triumph for China, the world’s biggest customer of Middle Eastern energy exports, since the United States reduced its need for imports, as the country moves toward so-called energy independence.
Announced in Beijing with Saudi Arabia and Iran's foreign ministers and China’s top diplomat between them, the deal gives a two-month probationary period during which Tehran and Riyadh will attempt to reestablish an official diplomatic relationship. For starters, each country will reopen its embassy in the other’s capital.
Success, thankfully, is not a given, but perilous developments might follow.
The Iran-Saudi proxy war in Yemen could officially come to a close if the two powers advance their newfound relationship.
Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad, an Iranian ally, might be deemed a legitimate actor on the world stage. READ MORE
