More than six years after recalling its top envoy to Tehran in solidarity with Saudi Arabia after it severed ties with Tehran in 2016, Kuwait has appointed an ambassador to Iran, both countries said on Sunday.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Saturday that Ambassador Bader Abdullah Al Munaikh handed over his credentials to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran. The Kuwaiti foreign ministry confirmed Munaikh's appointment.

Kuwait already has an Iranian ambassador.

Saudi Arabia is working to improve ties with Iran, with which it has been locked in a rivalry that has spanned conflicts in the region.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Tehran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed its embassy in Tehran amidst a Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

As other Gulf Arab states rally around Riyadh, Kuwait recalls its envoy to Iran. Under a foreign policy that balances relations with its larger neighbors, Kuwait has maintained relatively good relations with Tehran.

Last year, Saudi Arabia initiated direct talks with Iran. According to the kingdom's foreign minister, progress has been made in five rounds of Iraq-mediated talks, but not enough.