Saudi Arabia and Iran are making progress on mending ties, Iran’s foreign minister has said after meeting with his counterpart in Riyadh, as the two regional heavyweights seek to overcome past hostility and boost cooperation.

“Relations between Tehran and Saudi are on the right track and we are witnessing progress,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a joint news conference with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Thursday, adding that “the talks were successful”.

His visit to the kingdom comes months after Prince Faisal met with officials from Iran in Tehran in June on his first trip to the country after a China-brokered deal between the regional rivals in March to restore ties.

Under the deal, Tehran and Riyadh agreed to end a diplomatic rift and re-establish relations following years of hostility that had endangered regional stability in the Gulf, as well as in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.