Zarif arrives in Tunisia

He was welcomed by his Tunisian counterpart Khemaies Jhinaoui at the airport.

Zarif is scheduled to hold talks with the country’s President Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi and Foreign Minister Jhinaoui. He is to return home on Tuesday.

Iranian foreign minister’s regional trip started on Sunday which first took him to Algeria where he conferred with the country’s prime minister and foreign minister.

After holding talks with high-ranking Algerian officials, Zarif left Algiers Monday morning for Mauritania.

He departed Tehran on Sunday morning for a two-day visit to the three North African countries.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said earlier that the visit is aimed at deepening Iran’s bilateral ties with the North African countries.

Discussing regional developments such as Syrian crisis and Persian Gulf issues are among the objectives of the visit.

Regional developments require further solidarity among the Islamic states and Iran believes that Muslim countries should stand up to ill-wishers and those seeking to saw the seed of discord with strong convergence and unity, he said.

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