Iranian foreign minister to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar on Saturday

Visit comes ahead of 4th round of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, US president’s upcoming Middle East tour

By Hamdi Yilmaz and Ikram Kouachi

ISTANBUL (AA) - Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Saturday, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Araghchi will first travel to Riyadh for talks with senior Saudi officials, though no names were specified.

The visit, he noted, is part of Iran’s "principled policy of strengthening relations with neighboring countries," according to the official IRNA news agency.

Later the same day, Araghchi is expected to head to Doha to participate in the Arab-Iranian Dialogue Forum. The duration of the forum has not been disclosed.

His visit precedes US President Donald Trump’s upcoming Middle East tour, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday and continue through May 16.

It also comes just ahead of the anticipated fourth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the US, set to take place on Sunday in Muscat, Oman.

Oman and Italy have hosted three rounds of indirect US-Iran talks since April 12 to revive or renegotiate a nuclear agreement.

Kaynak: