The UAE's top national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan is on a visit to Iran for high-level talks, as part of Emirati efforts to strengthen ties and co-operation in the region.
Sheikh Tahnoun discussed expanding bilateral ties and regional issues with Ali Shamkhani, the country's top security official, Iran's Nournews reported. He then met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said last month that the UAE is taking steps to de-escalate tensions with Iran as part of a policy choice towards diplomacy and away from confrontation.
"The UAE seeks to boost regional stability and prosperity by developing positive relations through dialogue and building on the shared interest and managing divergent views."
Iranian state television later quoted Shamkhani as saying that "warm and friendly'' relations between the countries remain a priority and that they shouldn't be affected by other nations, likely a reference to the United States and Israel.
With business ties to Iran stretching back more than a century, the emirate of Dubai, 150 kilometres across the Gulf, has long been one of Iran's main links to the outside world.
The visit by Sheikh Tahnoon comes as the Emirates and Saudi Arabia are both negotiating with Iran amid efforts in Vienna to save Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers.
Talks over Iran's program in Vienna broke up last week after Tehran offered new demands. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh insisted Iran wasn't after a "temporary'' agreement from the negotiations, which he described as resuming "later this week.''
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