The embassy was closed in January 2016 when direct bilateral diplomatic relations between the two governments were severed following the mob attack and sacking of the embassy in January 2016. Following a diplomatic agreement brokered by China in March 2023, the embassy was reopened in August 2023.
History
Prior to January 2016, the mission was headed by Hasan Ibrahm Hamad Al-Zoyed, ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Tehran.[1]
The embassy was set on fire by an Iranian mob with a Molotov cocktail. The embassy was empty during the protests.[3][4]
Iranian police responded to the riot and arrested 40 people during the incident.[4][5][6][7] The day after, protests were held again by hundreds of Iranians in Tehran, and President Rouhani called the damage on embassy "by no means justifiable".[3] The Iranian Foreign Ministry has appealed for the public to calm and to respect diplomatic premises.[8] The Saudi Arabia government severed the bilateral relationship between the two governments following the incident.
The embassy resumed operations in August 2023.[9] Saudi Arabia's first ambassador to Iran since the severing of relations, Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi, arrived on 5 September 2023.[10]
