King of Bahrain to visit Iran

Published August 7th, 2002 - 03:00 GMT

Bahrain's King Hamad is expected to visit Iran "soon" for talks on bilateral relations and the latest developments in the region, the official Bahraini news agency BNA reported Tuesday.

"King Hamad will pay an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran soon for talks with Iran's political leadership on developing and enhancing (bilateral) cordial ties ... as well as current developments in the region," BNA said.

Bahrain normalized relations with Shiite-dominated Iran after 1997, with the rise to power of the reformist President Mohammad Khatami, exchanging ambassadors in January 1999. Previously, Manama had accused Tehran of fueling unrest in the country, where a Sunni ruling family governs a mainly Shiite population. (Albawaba.com)