Oman's Sultan Will Travel to Iran on Sunday, Oman State TV Says

FILE - Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said speaks at the Royal Family Council in Muscat, Oman, Jan. 11, 2020.

Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said will travel to Iran on Sunday for a two-day visit, Oman state TV said Wednesday.

The visit will follow Sultan Haitham's trip to Egypt last Sunday, where he discussed with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi "overall regional and international developments," Oman's state news agency said.

Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained in recent decades although the two countries have maintained diplomatic contacts.

Egypt's Sunni Muslim Arab ally Saudi Arabia and Shiite Muslim Iran announced in March that they would restore diplomatic relations, in a deal brokered by China, after years of hostility. Both countries thanked Oman for hosting previous talks between them.

Oman has also been mediating between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi movement. In April, Omani and Saudi envoys held peace talks with Houthi officials in Yemen's Sanaa as Riyadh seeks a permanent cease-fire to end its military involvement in the country's long-running war.

Oman, which shares borders with Yemen, has been trying for years to bridge differences between Yemen's warring parties, and more broadly between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the United States.