HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — An Iranian presidential envoy has arrived in Cuba for the second such visit in less than a year, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, in a sign of close ties between two foes of the United States.

Iran’s vice president for international relations, Ali Saeidlo, arrived Monday night in Havana as a special envoy of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad for talks with Cuban officials.

In May 2012, Saeidlo visited Cuba to deliver an invitation from Ahmadinejad for President Raul Castro to attend the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was held in Tehran in August.

Then, Saeidlo met with Vice President Jose Ramon Machado and the two countries confirmed their desire to enhance already strong bilateral relations.

Ahmadinejad himself visited Havana in January of last year.

Havana supports Iran’s right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, while Tehran is against the trade embargo the US has maintained against communist Cuba for the past 50 years.

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