Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Doha amid mounting fears of regional escalation following Iran's massive missile attack on Israel.
The two leaders discussed the latest regional and international developments in their meeting late on Wednesday in Qatar's capital, the official Saudi Press Agency said, without giving details.
Saudi Arabia and Iran, among the region's powerhouses, restored diplomatic ties in March last year, ending a seven-year rift. Their rapprochement has opened the door to top-level contact but caution remains a defining characteristic of their relations.
The meeting in Doha came a day after Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles on Israel to avenge the killing on Friday of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah – Iran's main regional proxy – and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier this year.
Israel-Gaza war one year on – in pictures
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Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes targeted Palestine Tower in Gaza city on October 7, 2023. EPA -
Palestinians take control of an Israeli Merkava battle tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. AFP -
This video grab from footage released by the Israeli Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group on May 22 shows what the group described as Israeli female soldiers being captured by Palestinian Hamas militants during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. AFP -
Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Gaza city on October 9, 2023. EPA -
A rocket is launched from the coastal Gaza strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezz Al-Din Al Qassam militia, the military wing of Hamas movement, in Gaza city. EPA -
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. Reuters -
Lightning strikes as smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in Gaza city on October 9, 2023. AFP -
An Israeli artillery unit fires at an area along the border with Gaza, southern Israel, on October 11, 2023. EPA -
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish people carry their belongings before boarding a ship for US nationals and their immediate family members, as they leave Israel headed for Cyprus. Reuters -
Palestinian youths take cover behind a rubbish container as they clash with Israeli forces at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah near the Israeli settlement of Beit El on October 20, 2023. AFP -
A man mourns as he attends a funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023. Reuters -
A man holds a child, survivors of Israeli bombardment, as they are treated at a trauma ward at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 24, 2023. AFP -
People search for survivors and the bodies of victims through the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2023. AFP -
Anti-war protesters raise their 'bloody' hands behind US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden's $106 billion national security supplemental funding request to support Israel and Ukraine, as well as bolster border security, on Capitol Hill in Washington on October 31, 2023. Reuters -
Palestinians run for cover after a strike near the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city on November 1, 2023. AFP -
Palestinian children run as they flee from Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 6, 2023. AFP -
An injured Palestinian woman covered in dust and blood hugs an injured girl child at the hospital following the Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 15, 2023. AFP -
Hostages released by Hamas Gal, left, and Tal Almog-Goldstein, second left, stand in a bus transporting them to an army base in Ofakim in southern Israel after they were released by the Palestinian militant group from the Gaza Strip on November 26, 2023. AFP -
Palestinian boys stand in their makeshift tent at a camp set up on a schoolyard in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip where most civilians have taken refuge, on December 13, 2023. AFP -
Palestinians fleeing the north through the Salaheddin road in the Zeitoun district on the southern outskirts of Gaza city, walk past Israeli army tanks on November 24, 2023. AFP -
In this picture taken during a media tour organised by the Israeli military on December 15, 2023, soldiers visit a tunnel that Hamas reportedly used to attack Israel through the Erez border crossing on October 7. AFP -
Jewish protesters block the passage of aid trucks being sent to Gaza in Ashdod, Israel on February 1, 2024. Reuters -
A man pulls water containers as he walks past destroyed buildings in Khan Younis on May 5, 2024. AFP -
Relatives of Hanan Yablonka, one of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants, mourn during his funeral in Tel Aviv on May 26. AFP -
Humanitarian aid packages land after being dropped from a plane in Al Mawasi district of Khan Younis, on May 30, 2024. Reuters -
Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, on June 16. EPA -
Displaced Palestinians play football in Jabalia on July 23, 2024. AFP -
Palestinians injured in an Israeli strike on a school ride on the back of a cart in Deir Al Balah on July 27, 2024. AFP -
Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in the northern Gaza Strip, September 11. Reuters -
Palestinians survey the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on a displacement camp in Khan Younis on September 10, 2024. AFP -
A medical staff member carries supplies through a destroyed section of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city on September 17. AFP -
People walk past makeshift graves in Gaza city on September 17. AFP
Israel and its main backer the US have vowed to hit back hard to avenge Tuesday's attack, but Iran said on Wednesday its missile volley – its biggest assault on Israel – was over, barring further provocation.
Sources briefed on diplomatic efforts to defuse tension in the region said Saudi Arabia was searching for ways to prevent a major escalation in the Middle East that could spiral out of control.
Tension in the Middle East and fears of a wider conflict have escalated since the war between Hamas and Israel began nearly a year ago. Iran's proxies in the region, including Yemen's Houthis and armed Shiite groups in Iraq – have attacked Israel in efforts to stop its bombardment of Gaza that has killed about 41,700 people.
Hezbollah's daily exchange of cross-border fire with Israel has inched closer to a full-fledged war over the past fortnight, with Israel carrying out a ground invasion in Lebanon this week, and significantly stepping up air strikes, mostly in southern Lebanon, the group's stronghold, and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim said on Wednesday that Doha will continue mediation efforts to end the war in Gaza. In a joint press conference with the Iranian President, he said: “The recent surge of conflict in Lebanon is what we have been warning against since the beginning of Israeli aggression.” Israel, he added, must “cease its unjust war in Gaza, and the West Bank and its aggression on Lebanon”.
Mr Pezeshkian warned at the news conference that if Israel acts against Iran, then Tehran will respond in a more severe way. “We are not in pursuit of war with Israel,” he said. “They promised us peace. But Israel has terrorised our guests in Tehran during our presidential inauguration. We want to establish peace. If you disagree, peace will not be established.”
