Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will visit Oman and Kuwait on Wednesday, state media reported, in his first visit to the Gulf Arab states since taking power in 2013. Rouhani will leave Tehran for Muscat on Wednesday to meet Oman's Sultan Qaboos, Rouhani's deputy chief of staff for communications, Parviz Esmaeili, was quoted as saying on Monday by state-run Press TV. He will depart on the same day to Kuwait on invitation of Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The six Arab members of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), especially Saudi Arabia, accuse Tehran of using sectarianism to interfere in Arab countries and build its own sphere of influence in the Middle East. Iran denies the accusations. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in January 2016 cut diplomatic relations with Iran and some other Gulf states recalled their ambassadors in solidarity with the oil-rich kingdom after its embassy in Iran was torched by protesters.
