TEHRAN- High ranking military officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran deliberated on proposals to strengthen military ties between the two Muslim nations.

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud and Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri discussed a number of topics over the phone on Thursday.

The Iranian Armed Forces are prepared to strengthen their military ties with Saudi Arabia, according to General Bagheri.

In addition, he praised Riyadh for convening an extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) recently to discuss the Gaza issue and the strengthening of amicable ties between Tehran and Riyadh.

The Saudi minister of defense, for his part, praised the efforts to strengthen military ties between the two countries.

The two parties also spoke about the urgent problems facing the Muslim world.

On November 01, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in the Saudi capital for a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders on the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.

This was the first visit by an Iranian president to Saudi Arabia since the resumption of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh under a Chinese-brokered agreement last March. 

Also, Raisi’s trip to Saudi Arabia was the first visit by an Iranian president to Saudi Arabia in 11 years. 

President Raisi spoke to reporters before leaving Tehran for Riyadh, saying the OIC summit should have not been a platform for declaring positions but instead, it should have resulted in actions on Gaza. 

Raisi called the holding of an emergency meeting of the OIC and reaching a fully operational and executive decision about Gaza the expectation of all the people of the world, especially the Islamic Ummah, according to the official website of the Iranian presidency. 

“This platform is not one for mere speech and announcement of positions, but must be a platform for action to quickly stop the bombings, lift the blockade of Gaza, and open the way to help the oppressed and authoritative people of this region, as well as to achieve the rights of the Palestinians, which was basically the main philosophy of the establishment of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,” he said.

President Raisi stated that the main purpose of his trip to Saudi Arabia was to participate in the emergency meeting of the OIC on the Palestinian issue.

Referring to the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to hold this meeting immediately since the beginning of the Zionist regime's invasion of Gaza, he said, “The issue of Palestine is the main issue of the Islamic Ummah and the Muslims of the world, but it is also the issue of humanity and all the people of understanding and thinking all over the world who have taken to the streets in millions these days and they shout about the oppression of the Zionist regime and the support of the Americans for this genocide.”

President Raisi stated that the crimes committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza today are a clear example of war crimes and crimes against humanity, adding, “The Americans claim in their statements and messages that they are not looking to expand the domain of the war, while this claim is not compatible with their actions at all, because the fuel of the Zionist war machine is provided by the Americans.”

He described the U.S. efforts to obstruct a ceasefire in Gaza at various meetings including at the UN Security Council as examples of the Americans lying about recent events. “Today the world should see the main face of the Americans, to see how, as stated by the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, they are the main supporter of crimes against the oppressed nations with good appearance and velvet hands,” he continued.

Iran and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement on March 10 to reestablish diplomatic ties and reopen embassies and missions following seven years of estrangement, following protracted discussions mediated by China.

The two reginal powerhouses have emphasized the need of respecting one another’s national sovereignty and abstaining from meddling in one another’s domestic affairs.

Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, the commander of the Iranian Navy, revealed intentions in June for several regional nations, notably Saudi Arabia and Iran, to join a new naval coalition in the northern Indian Ocean.

Later, in August, representatives from the two governments’ defense ministries came to an agreement to swap military attachés.