TEHRAN: Iran's and the UAE's senior national security officials met in Tehran on Monday, expressing the two nations' interest in further expanding ties after years of tensions, according to IRNA.

"Only through continuous dialogue and cooperation between the countries of the region will stability and lasting security be established," Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said during a meeting with the UAE's National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

According to sources, the most important aim in Iran's foreign policy is to preserve "warm and friendly" relations with its neighbours and to promote exchanges based on each other's economic, commercial, and investment capacities.

The "interventionist policies" of countries outside the region should not undermine ties between neighbours, according to the Iranian official. Gulf countries can play a vital role in the regional and global economy as an energy centre, while simultaneously fostering development and wealth for their people, according to Shamkhani. The president of Iran's SNSC expressed confidence that his UAE counterpart's visit to Iran will create a new chapter in the two countries' relations and pave the way for the consolidation and broadening of bilateral ties.

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