Iran has announced that it will waive visa requirements for 33 countries

Iran has announced that it will lift visa requirements for 33 countries, including Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported on Thursday. The Iranian Ministry of Tourism believes that the open-door policy will demonstrate Iran's willingness to interact with various countries around the world, ISNA news agency said. The decision brings to 45 the number of countries whose citizens can visit Iran without a visa, another step towards improving relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which are rivals in oil production.

Iran and Saudi Arabia will fully resume diplomatic relations, which were severed in 2016, under an agreement reached in March. The decision to lift the visa requirement also applies to citizens of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, with whom Tehran has not yet fully established relations. The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) published the full list of countries, which includes India, Tunisia, Lebanon and several Central Asian, African and Muslim countries. Only one Western European country, Croatia, is on the list. Russian citizens can travel visa-free if they are traveling in groups. Omani citizens were already able to visit Iran without a visa before this announcement. From December 19, Iranian pilgrims will be able to travel regularly to Saudi Arabia for the first time in eight years.