In a crucial moment during the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a delegation from Saudi Arabia paid their respects. This signals a rare and symbolic gesture between two regional rivals with a long history of strained ties. The presence of Saudi representatives at such a high-profile and sensitive occasion just after the US-Israel-Iran war signals a possible shift in diplomatic dynamics in West Asia.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Vice-Minister Walid al-Khuraiji and a delegation paid their respects to the former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28. The dead being honoured include a son-in-law, Ali Khamenei’s eldest daughter, a 14-month-old granddaughter and the wife of Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
While delegations from Oman and Qatar were expected at Khamenei’s funeral due to their direct role in mediation, the Saudi delegation came as a surprise. For the unversed, Saudi Arabia’s relations with Iran have historically been rocky till 2023, when the two countries embarked on a China-brokered rapprochement.
While countries like Saudi Arabia had initially resisted the US’ request to support military ops against Iran, saying they won’t allow their territory to be used for launching attacks, they were embroiled in the war just days later. During the US-Israel-Iran war, Iran’s military repeatedly attacked American military bases in Saudi Arabia.
However, recent reports suggest that the ties between the US and Saudi Arabia have significantly deteriorated in recent months.
According to a New York Times report, tensions escalated between Riyadh and Washington after US President Donald Trump announced Project Freedom – a mission to help guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The report says that Saudi Arabia had objected to the mission, saying that American forces could not use the kingdom’s airspace. The objection triggered a flurry of phone calls between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, but the latter stood by his decision.
MBS believed that a new mission like Project Freedom in the strategic Strait of Hormuz could reignite the war. “They had lost confidence in the administration, and they thought if they let the U.S. use their airspace, they would get hit even harder by Iran,” Hussein Ibish, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told the NYT.
The observers believe that even during the US-Israel-Iran war, Riyadh had tried to take the middle course, thus protecting its interests. The decision to send a delegation to the funeral of Ali Khamenei might be Saudi Arabia’s one more way of maintaining a strategic and diplomatic balance at the time of peak uncertainty.