Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has made visits to both Qatar and Oman to meet senior Gulf officials in a flurry of diplomacy.
In Doha, Mr Amirabdollahian met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim to discuss bilateral relations.
Sheikh Tamim hailed the strong relations between the two countries and called for the comprehensive development of ties, particularly in the economic sphere, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.
Mr Amirabdollahian described political relations between the nations as “excellent” and called for bilateral trade ties to be expanded in proportion to their “close and friendly” relations, Iran’s Irna news agency reported.
The minister's visit to Doha comes ahead of an imminent meeting of the Iran-Qatar Joint Economic Commission.
The pair also discussed transport co-operation, particularly in the maritime sector.
Mr Amirabdollahian also praised Qatar's recent efforts to resolve regional problems, and called on both countries to enhance co-operation to ensure regional peace, stability and security.
Later on Tuesday, Mr Amirabdollahian and his delegation travelled to Muscat to meet Mohammad Abdulsalam, the chief negotiator of Yemen's Houthi rebel group.
Mr Amirabdollahian also met his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi.
Sanam Vakil, director of Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa programme, said Iran’s recent diplomatic push both in the Gulf and the wider region was part of efforts to show it can overcome its challenges.
Iran is “looking to show that despite sanctions and domestic protests it continues to weather the storm by bolstering stronger international economic and foreign ties”, Ms Vakil told AFP.
“These links … aim to increase economic connectivity and boost internal morale,” she added.
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has also been on a foreign policy tour recently, visiting China, Syria and Venezuela, as well as hosting Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
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Saturday's results
Women's third round
- 14-Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) beat Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 6-2, 6-2
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4. 6-0
- Coco Vandeweghe (USA) beat Alison Riske (USA) 6-2, 6-4
- 9-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat 19-Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Petra Martic (Croatia) beat Zarina Diyas (Kazakhstan) 7-6, 6-1
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4, 6-0
Men's third round
- 13-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) beat Dudi Sela (Israel) 6-1, 6-1 -- retired
- Sam Queery (United States) beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
- 6-Milos Raonic (Canada) beat 25-Albert Ramos (Spain) 7-6, 6-4, 7-5
- 10-Alexander Zverev (Germany) beat Sebastian Ofner (Austria) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
- 11-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat David Ferrer (Spain) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
- Adrian Mannarino (France) beat 15-Gael Monfils (France) 7-6, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
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Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
