Iran's top diplomat to visit UAE today

In this file photo taken on October 6, 2021, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks with his Russian counterpart after their meeting in Moscow. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV POOL AFP DUBAI - Iran's top diplomat is expected to visit the United Arab Emirates on Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said, welcoming the appointment of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan as the Gulf state's president last week.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is planning to visit the UAE today, according to Saeed Khatibzadeh, who spokeswoman for the televised weekly news conference.

Iranian state media said Amir-Abdollahian left Tehran to pay tributes to the late President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, who died on Friday.

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Amir-Abdollahian's visit is the highest level of trip by an Iranian official to the Gulf since Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched a deadly strike on the United Arab Emirates in January.

In the year 2019 the UAE started collaborating with Iran after attacks on tankers off Gulf waters and Saudi energy infrastructure.

In November, Iran's deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani visited the UAE, when he said the two countries had agreed to open a new chapter in bilateral relations.

Israeli PM begins his first visit to UAE as Iran's tensions surge.

United Arab Emirates strongman Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who was elected president on Saturday, led a realignment of the Middle East that created a new anti-Iran axis with Israel and fought a rising tide of political Islam in the region.