Saudi Arabia has freed three Iranian fishermen detained by the kingdom’s coastguard last year, IRNA quoted an Iranian official as saying on Tuesday, following negotiations between the two regional rivals.
Ardeshir Yarahmadi, the head of the fisheries department of southern Bushehr Province, said the three men were arrested in June 2017 after their vessel drifted into Saudi waters.
They were freed this week after “negotiations between the foreign ministry officials of the two countries”, Yarahmadi said, without giving the date of release.
In February, Saudi Arabia freed nine Iranian fishermen detained for two years, accusing them of illegally entering its waters.
Disputes between Iran and Saudi Arabia have increased in recent years. The two countries have backed opposing forces in conflicts in the volatile region.
However, tensions between the two rivals usually tone down when Iranians visit Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj rituals.
In a rather unprecedented move, Saudi King Salman on Sunday sent a message in the Persian language welcoming the Iranians who converged on his country to perform the hajj.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) posted King Salman’s message in Arabic, English, Russian, Chinese, Persian and Urdu.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia agreed to admit a diplomat to head an office representing Iranian interests in the oil kingdom, in a rare move after the rivals broke relations in 2016.
Saudi Arabia officially severed ties with Iran in 2016 after a group of protesters attacked the Saudi missions in Tehran and Mashhad in protest against the killing of a prominent Shia cleric in the Arab country.
