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Saudi Arabia, Iran held direct talks in bid to ease tensions

Talks between the two countries were organized by Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
In this handout provided by the EU Delegation in Vienna, Representatives of the European Union, Iran and others attend the Iran nuclear talks at the Grand Hotel on April 15, 2021, in Vienna, Austria.

Top officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran held talks in Baghdad earlier this month in a bid to ease tensions between the regional rivals.

The talks, first reported by the Financial Times, are thought to be the first direct discussions since Riyadh and Tehran severed diplomatic ties in 2016. They also come as the US administration under President Joe Biden renews a diplomatic push to end Yemen’s civil war and seeks to return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

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