Kuwait appoints first ambassador to Iran in more than six years

Kuwait has named an ambassador to Iran more than six years after it recalled its top envoy to Tehran in solidarity with Saudi Arabia which had severed ties with the Islamic Republic in 2016.

Bader Abdullah Al-Munaikh handed copy of his credentials to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran on Saturday, Iran’s foreign ministry said on its website.

The move comes as Saudi Arabia works to improve ties with Iran, with which it has been locked in a rivalry that has played out across conflicts in the region.

Saudi Arabia launched direct talks with Iran last year with Iraq playing the role of mediator. The kingdom’s foreign minister has said there has been some progress in five rounds of talks.

The Sunni powerhouse severed ties with Teheran in January 2016 after attacks on its missions in the Islamic Republic by protestors who were angry with the execution of a prominent Shi’ite cleric in the Gulf Kingdom.

Kuwait recalled its envoy to Iran as other Gulf Arab states downgraded ties in solidarity with Riyadh. Kuwait has maintained relatively good relations with Tehran under a foreign policy balancing ties with its larger neighbors.