DUBAI, September 5. /TASS/. Iran's newly appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alireza Enayati has arrived in Riyadh to take up his office, the IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

In the Saudi capital city, Enayati was welcomed by Saudi officials and employees of the Iranian embassy, which resumed operation on June 6.

"Iran and Saudi Arabia, the two influential countries of the region, will be able to work together and create a successful cooperation model," the agency quoted the Iranian diplomat as saying before leaving for Riyadh.

Relations between Riyadh and Tehran became strained in March 2015 after a Saudi-led coalition launched a military operation in Yemen against the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement. Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and a consulate in Mashhad were attacked by crowds protesting against the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, in Riyadh. On March 10, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to normalize bilateral relations and open embassies within two months.