Iranian navy test fires ground-to-ship short-range cruise missile Ghader during a military drill. File Photo: VCG

Saudi Arabia has reportedly proposed a combined exercise with Iran in the Red Sea, a rare move that experts regard as a positive outcome and continuation of the resumption of diplomatic relations, which carries a positive significance for the stability of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. 

The head of the Iranian Army Navy announced that Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in a joint naval exercise, a move aimed at strengthening regional cooperation, with both nations extending invitations to each other concerning their presence in the ports, Iran's English language daily Tehran Times reported on Tuesday.

While Iran and Saudi Arabia maintained a peaceful approach to diplomacy, cooperation between the two countries is likely to extend to the military field, which implies that the tide of reconciliation is not stagnating or reversing, rather it is progressing much further, Zhu Weilie, director of the Middle East Studies Institute of the Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In April 2024, the two countries announced the resumption of diplomatic ties with immediate effect in Beijing after the first formal meeting between the two countries' top diplomats in more than seven years.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in December 2023 that China always supports the people of the Middle East in independently exploring development paths, supports Middle East countries in solving regional security issues through solidarity and cooperation, and supports Saudi Arabia and Iran in continuously advancing the process of improving relations in remarks during a group meeting with delegations from the foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia and Iran in December 2023.

Zhu believes that China is highly appreciative of the possibility of cooperation between the two countries in the security field, and Zhu regards China as a facilitator of regional unity.

This collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Iran could potentially pave the way for further dialogue and de-escalation of tensions in the region, benefiting both countries and the broader international community, according to the Tehran Times Daily.

Any potential cooperation between the two sides this time should not be over-interpreted as targeting the US or other regional rivals, but instead reflects more of a cooperative effort to strengthen security management in the Red Sea region, Liu Zhongmin, a professor from the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.

Two regional powerhouses, once strategically confrontational, are now cautiously advancing their cooperation after the resumption of diplomatic ties, benefiting the stability of the region, Liu added.

In the context of the current situation in the Middle East, Zhu said, this potential joint exercise calls for the attention of the global international community and serves as a reminder that it should be more concerned with the will of the regional countries themselves rather than the actions of major countries.

Zhu noted that if the joint exercise goes ahead, it reveals that Middle East countries have lost confidence in the US.

As the US repeatedly fails to honor its words with concrete actions, it will be hard to earn the trust of regional countries, developing countries and Global South countries, thus the credibility of the US in the Gulf States is doomed to decline, Zhu suggested.