From Our man In Teheran
June 1998
Following high-level contacts, "Egypt seeks to strengthen ties with Iran and to create an Arab front together with Iran against the Israeli-Turkish alliance," according to the Cairo newspaper al-Ahram. A German delegation headed by the chief of the foreign ministry's Middle East department has been in Tehran trying to remove obstacles to an expansion of bilateral trade.

Other trade delegationsfrom Italy, France, the Netherlands and Britain, including media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, have also visited Tehran. An Iranian delegation led by Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian visited Oman recently and told Omani leaders of its desire for closer co-operation on security in the Gulf. Underlining Iran's trade ties to Europe, a senior official announced that 40% of the country's oil output will be exported to Europe in the year that started on March 21st. see iran; iransecurity; iran-iraq