In 1797, Sulayman Pasha, the Mamluk governor of Iraq, promptly invaded Diriyah with around 15,000 troops in co-ordination with the Sharif of Mecca and laid a one-month siege to Al-Ahsa.

[citation needed] Throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s, Riyadh suspected Baghdad of supporting political movements hostile to Saudi interests, not only in the Arabian Peninsula but also in other Middle Eastern countries.

[citation needed] Beginning in late 1974, however, Iraq began to moderate its foreign policies, a change that significantly lessened tensions between Riyadh and Baghdad.

It began at the Rabat Arab summit in October 1974, where Jordan invited Iraq to listen to proposals for how it could resolve differences with Iran, Egypt, and the Saudis.

In June 1975, the two states settled lingering border issues, agreeing to divide equally the diamond shaped 'neutral zone' carved out by the British in the 1920s.

[citation needed] The Saudis and Iraqis felt threatened by the Iranians' announcements that they would export Islamic revolution, and this shared fear fostered an unprecedented degree of cooperation between both countries.

[citation needed] In August 1990, only two years after Baghdad and Tehran had agreed to cease hostilities, Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait.

Riyadh's fears concerning Baghdad's ultimate intentions prompted Saudi Arabia to become involved directly in the war against Iraq during January and February 1991.

The kingdom's air bases served as the main staging areas for aerial strikes against Iraqi targets, and for personnel of the Saudi Army who participated in both the bombing assaults and the ground offensive.

In the past, backing for such groups had been discreet, but in early 1992 the Saudi's invited several Iraqi opposition leaders to Riyadh to attend a well-publicized conference.

To further demonstrate Saudi dissatisfaction with the regime in Baghdad, Crown Prince Abdallah permitted the media to videotape his meeting with some of the opponents of Saddam Hussein.

Saudi Arabia denied the accusations which were criticised by the country, the Carnegie Middle East Center and the Royal United Services Institute.

[15] On March 25, 2021, Saudi Arabia and Iraq held talks through a video call discussing the relations between the two countries and stressing on the importance of boosting the cooperation on regional and international issues.