Today, Iran and Saudi Arabia need to bury their old grudges. They should not waste the rapprochement mediated by China, which had not only surprised the world but also reshaped regional geopolitics that thrived on the belief that, without Israel, the Shiites and Sunnis would keep fighting like “cat and dog.”

The reconciliation between the two has created a wave of hope across the region and among peace-lovers worldwide. Whatever Beijing’s motives might be, it brought the two archrivals, after decades of open and hidden hostilities, face-to-face to discuss and resolve their differences.

It has given both sides a rare opportunity to pause, rebuild confidence, deepen trust, and provided platform jointly on, whether on peace and stability, ending sectarianism, settling political boundaries, or pursuing post-oil diversification.

Since both claim leadership, Riyadh and Tehran must work together. Today their challenges are common, and the costs are too high to ignore. Both share deep historical and cultural roots, which can benefit them if they cooperate instead of compete. Even if they agree only on the idea of “peace”, that alone can have huge dividend in the form of prosperity, stability, and well-being to their people and the world at large.

Iran is known as the last “great underdeveloped” country, while Saudi Arabia is pursuing some of the most ambitious diversification projects in the world. Both countries have enormous resources. Instead of sending them abroad, they can create a mutually beneficial ecosystem to work together on economic, trade, investment, and technology projects.

This cooperative model can easily........

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