Qatari emir to visit Iran soon

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani announced that he plans to visit Iran in the near future to discuss the grounds for the enhancement of cooperation with Tehran. The Qatari emir made the announcement in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Qatar Mohammad Javad Asayesh in Doha on Monday. At the meeting, Sheikh Tamim pointed to the age-old and historical bonds between the two countries, and said, "Given its might and capabilities, Iran is regarded as a power by all Muslim states." Asayesh, for his part, noted that Tehran attaches paramount importance to its relations with the countries on the Southern shores of the Persian Gulf. He also extended Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s official invitation to the Qatari emir to pay a visit to Tehran, underlining that the visit would yield positive results for both Iran and Qatar. Both Iran and Qatar have recently augmented efforts to further expand ties and cooperation in all the different political, economic, defense, security and cultural fields. The two Persian Gulf littoral states recently signed several protocols to increase mutual cooperation.