Cairo: For the first time since 2016, Iran announced on Tuesday that it had appointed an ambassador to the UAE, as relations between Iran and Gulf states have changed.

The action follows an effort by the UAE to improve relations and announce the return of its ambassador to Tehran in August.

Reza Ameri, Iran's recently appointed ambassador, was previously the director general of the Foreign Ministry's office for Iranian expatriates, according to Iranian state media.

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One year after a UN-mediated cease-fire significantly reduced fighting, Iran welcomed a US call to support a peace process in order to help put an end to the protracted conflict in Yemen.

Timothy Lenderking, the special representative of the US for Yemen, stated on Tuesday that Iran should support the political process that Washington hopes will begin.

Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, called the ambassador's call "gratifying," emphasising that Tehran had "strived for a peace process since the beginning of the war."

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Hans Grundberg, the UN representative for Yemen, called it a "moment of hope" because the cease-fire was still largely in place despite expiring in October.

A drone attack against a Ministry of Defense complex in the central city of Isfahan was thwarted by Iran, according to a separate development, Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday amid rising tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv.

Tehran has previously held Israel responsible for such attacks, including a January drone strike on a military facility close to Isfahan. Israel has not acknowledged or denied making the attacks.

The Amir Al-Momenin complex in Isfahan was the target of an unsuccessful attack by a small drone that was thwarted by defence systems, according to Tasnim, who also stated that there was no damage done.

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An industrial hub for the Ministry of Defense was also the target of a drone attack in January, which Iran claimed was unsuccessful and was carried out by "mercenaries of the Zionist regime."