Burns has told Saudi officials that the United States was caught off guard, after the kingdom agreed to a normalization deal with Iran.
During an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia this week, Burns said Washington “felt blindsided” by its renewed diplomacy with both Iran and Syria, multiple unnamed sources told the Journal on Thursday.
The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia held talks in the Chinese capital on Thursday, where they discussed a number of issues related to the new initiative, including reopening embassies in both countries, designating ambassadors, and even a visit to Riyadh by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Following years of strife as regional rivals, Tehran and Riyadh agreed to resume official diplomatic relations on March 10 after secret talks mediated by China. The agreement represented a major diplomatic triumph for China as well as a significant shift in Middle Eastern geopolitics.
Since the agreement was announced, top diplomats from Saudi Arabia and Iran have spoken on the phone at least three times, and hope to reach compromises on several outstanding issues – namely the war in Yemen, which has raged on for more than eight years and left hundreds of thousands dead.
Tehran is also working to reestablish contacts with the United Arab Emirates, another Persian Gulf monarchy long at odds with the Islamic Republic.
Earlier this week, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri said his country had appointed an ambassador to Abu Dhabi for the first time in nearly a decade. Riyadh is also reportedly seeking to reach a similar understanding with Syria, and hopes to invite President Bashar al-Assad for a visit later this year.
While the White House has welcomed the new diplomacy in public, Burns’ reported complaints to Saudi officials this week could highlight concerns over Beijing’s growing influence in the region.
Tensions between Riyadh and Washington have also been on the rise since last year, when OPEC+, a group of major oil exporters led by Saudi Arabia, opted to slash production.