Negotiations are reportedly underway between Saudi Arabia and Iran for resuming direct flights between the two countries, according to the Iranian Airline and Tourist Service Offices Syndicate.
Hormtallah Rafiei, the syndicate’s chairman, told the Iranian ISNA news agency that a number of "fruitful meetings" have been held on the resumption of travel between the two regional powers, in the aftermath of a landmark China-brokered decision to re-establish diplomatic ties.
He stated that "preliminary negotiations and agreements" have been carried out to conduct these flights between Iranian and Saudi cities, which includes the Dammam route to Mashhad and Tehran, indicating that travel could be take place soon.
Rafiei also added that travel between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been a "demand" of the Iranian private sector, which was negatively impacted by the severance of ties between Riyadh and Tehran seven years ago.
Alireza Enayati, an Iranian assistant foreign minister, also seemingly confirmed that flights between Iran and Saudi Arabia are set to resume.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are currently in the middle of re-establishing their diplomatic relations. An Iranian delegation landed in Riyadh earlier this week with the aim of conducting talks on reopening Iranian diplomatic missions in Riyadh and Jeddah, respectively. A Saudi delegation made a similar trip earlier.