‘Reinforcement of ties’: Iran FM to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar today
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esameil Baqaei said the country’s top diplomat is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar today.
Baqaei made the announcement on Friday, saying Araghchi’s planned trips are in line with the Islamic Republic’s “principled policy of continuous reinforcement of relations with its neighbors.”
“The foreign minister (Abbas Araghchi) will travel to Riyadh on Saturday to meet and hold talks with high-ranking Saudi officials,” Baghaei said, adding that the Iranian foreign minister will also head to Doha on Saturday evening to participate in the Iran-Arab World Dialogue Summit.
The visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar comes as the US President Danald Trump is scheduled to tour the Persian Gulf region.
Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to 16 on his first major Middle East trip of his second term.
In Riyadh, he is expected to meet leaders of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, a source close to the Saudi government said earlier this month.
The visit follows three rounds of US-Iran negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program and the removal of US sanctions on Iran.
According to American news website Axios, the fourth round of negotiations is expected to take place in the Omani capital of Muscat on Sunday.
The meeting had initially been scheduled for May 3, but it was postponed due to “logistical and technical reasons.”