TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived on Friday in Havana to hold talks with Cuban officials, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

“During the trip, in addition to meeting with his Cuban counterpart, the foreign minister will also meet with other high-ranking officials of the country and discuss the development of bilateral cooperation and other issues of mutual interest,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday Morning.

The chief Iranian diplomat’s visit to Cuba is the second leg of a regional tour that includes Venezuela, Cuba, and Bolivia.

Zarif began his tour by paying a visit to Venezuela, where he met with several high-ranking Venezuelan officials, including President Nicholas Maduro, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.

“In Venezuela meeting with President Nicholas Maduro, VP Rodriguez, FM Arreaza and other ministers on expansion of bilateral ties. Lectured today at the Samuel Robinson Institute on US/ Western terror tactics in attempts to halt the course of history toward a post-Western world,” Zarif tweeted on Friday after concluding his visit to Venezuela.

Zarif will also visit Bolivia and take part in the inauguration of the country’s new president, Luis Arce, who recently expressed willingness to resume diplomatic relations with Iran after securing a landslide victory in Bolivia’s presidential election.

SM/PA