Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a China-brokered agreement on Friday to restore diplomatic relations, ending a seven-year dispute.

Closed-door talks between top security officials took place in Beijing this week, leading to a Friday announcement in which Tehran and Riyadh agreed to re-open embassies within two months and to refrain from interfering in each other’s domestic affairs.

“The three countries expressed their keenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security,” according to a statement signed by senior representatives from China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

Regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia had been locked in a diplomatic dispute since 2016, following Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shia Muslim cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. He had been convicted of terror-related offenses in Iran.

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