Iran’s foreign minister said that consolidating ties with neighboring countries, Arab states in particular, is a fundamental priority in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran has exported about $2.5b worth of non-oil products to Arab states in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East over the past five months, official with Trade Promotion Organization of Iran said on Sunday.
The Trump administration is quietly pushing ahead with a bid to create a new security and political alliance with six Persian Gulf Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, in part to counter Iran’s expansion in the region, according to U.S. and Arab officials.
The emir of Qatar has said a group of Arab states blockading his country for almost five months is seeking "regime change".
Qatar faces possible further sanctions by Arab states that have severed ties with Doha over allegations of links to terrorism, as a deadline to accept a series of demands is expected to expire on Sunday night with no signs of the crisis ending.
Several Iranian news outlets and social media users have noted the increasing number of Qatar flights over Iran following the worsening of ties between Doha and four Arab states.
A deputy oil minister expressed the willingness by some Arab States of the Persian Gulf region to import Iran's natural gas in the post-election era as a good opportunity to pursue the matter.
