Mahmoud Abbas to fulfill official visit to Iran

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accepted an official invitation to visit Iran whose relations have known tension with leaders of the Palestinian authority since some time.

A high ranking Palestinian official explained that Abbas who is currently in an official visit to Turkey, received an invitation to visit Iran and that he had accepted it, and it will be set after his return back home. Abbas had already visited Russia before his current visit to Ankara.

Meantime, a source close to the Iranian foreign ministry said that the Palestinian President will more expectedly visit Iran shortly and that his visit signifies that Iran wishes to establish friendly relations with the Palestinian government the same it enjoys in good relations with the Palestinian groups.

However, another Iranian source stressed that this call does not mean that Tehran is changing its mind concerning the peace process but had always supported the Palestinians politically. Iran's relations with the leaders of the Palestinian Authority is characterized by tension since a long time because of their seek to reach a settlement with Israel especially after the interim peace agreements signed in the 1990s.