After their fourth contact in less than three weeks, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to meet “in the coming days.” After ambiguity over the location of the gathering, Amwaj.media has learned, China has emerged as one likely option. The slow but steady movement towards a face-to-face encounter between the chief diplomats comes in the wake of the Mar. 10 announcement by Riyadh and Tehran that diplomatic ties will be resumed within two months. The Kingdom cut ties with the Islamic Republic in 2016 in response to the storming of its diplomatic facilities by Iranian protesters over the execution of a dissident Saudi Shiite cleric.

The joint statement issued by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia in Beijing in early March tasks the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers with working out the modalities of the reopening of embassies and consulates by May 10. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud now have only...