by Xinhua writer Gao Wencheng

TEHRAN, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Tehran and Riyadh have recently resumed talks to restore ties and ease regional tensions. Such rapprochement between the two Gulf archrivals could set an example for resolving regional problems without relying on outside players.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have been locked in confrontation due to religious and geopolitical factors. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in protest against attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran following the Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric.

The discord between the two Gulf countries has created an opportunity for outsiders to intervene. The United States has been working tirelessly to destabilize the region by, among others, dividing it into pro- and anti-U.S. or pro- and anti-Iran camps.

For instance, the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump peddled U.S. weapons to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries by portraying Iran as the biggest threat to the region.

Yet a fast-changing geopolitical landscape has prompted Middle Eastern countries to reconfigure their ties with the United States. The Iran-Saudi talks are a step in that direction.

The attempt at dialogue is in the interests of Iran and Saudi Arabia, and even the entire region. The two countries, which face each other across a maritime border in the Gulf, are "neighbors forever," as Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud said in March.

"We cannot get rid of them, and they can't get rid of us," he said, "so it's better for both of us to work it out and to look for ways in which we can coexist." For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian recently said, "We have different views and approaches on some issues in the region, but the management of differences by the sides can serve the interests of the two nations."

Meanwhile, dialogue between the two is widely expected to improve security in the Middle East, de-escalate tensions and enhance regional engagement and reconciliation.

But U.S. politicians and analysts still impose a "zero-sum" frame on the Middle East, believing that other countries might fill the "power vacuum" in the region left behind by the United States.

Regional countries, for their part, are tired of outside interference, which has unsettled Washington.

They prefer to make their own choices based on complex international politics and in line with their own interests. That is why UAE leaders received Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in March despite U.S. opposition and why Saudi and Emirati leaders reportedly declined calls with U.S. President Joe Biden during the Ukraine crisis.

The repeated interference from non-regional major countries in Middle Eastern affairs has hurt the region and its people. Fortunately, as the Middle East takes matters into its own hands, Washington's interference is becoming increasingly unpopular. The room for its manipulation is narrowing. Enditem

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