Iran NSC chief Shamkhani to visit UAE soon
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Iran's security official reveals that he will soon be making a trip to the UAE amid warming ties with Saudi Arabia.
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Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani sits in a meeting in Tehran, Iran on June 12, 2021 (AP)
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani will visit the United Arab Emirates soon, Tehran's Etemad newspaper reported Wednesday.
Shamkhani's visit comes amid thawing ties between Iran and several Gulf countries.
The UAE had in September sent an ambassador to Iran after the two countries spent the better half of a decade with downgraded ties.
"Shamkhani will meet with his Emirati counterpart to discuss the status of negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and other security-political issues," Etemad reported on its Telegram channel.
UAE-Iranian ties soured after Saudi Arabia severed ties with Tehran in January 2016 following the execution of prominent human rights activist and outspoken Riyadh critic Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al-Nimr.
The Sheikh raised his voice against corruption and political injustice inflicted on marginalized groups that constitute minorities in different regions of the Kingdom, notably Al-Qatif.
However, after seven years of strained ties, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic relations and re-open their embassies series of talks brokered in Beijing, China under the auspices of Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
Simultaneously, several Arab countries reflected their views on the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia most notably the UAE, Egypt, and Qatar. The countries touched on the subject by expressing hope for the future.
Read next: Arab states welcome rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia
The Saudi leadership expressed hope that the positive discussion with Iran will continue in light of the Chinese-sponsored agreement which was struck last week.
The Saudi cabinet headed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired a meeting that was held in Riyadh, during which they reviewed the agreement.
The cabinet also aspired that the agreement will benefit Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the region, as well as help to maintain regional and international peace and security.
