THE IRANIAN
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Saudi crown prince's son in Tehran for private visit
RIYADH, Aug 4 (AFP) - Saudi Prince Turki ibn Abdallah, son of the Crown Prince Abdallah ibn Abdel Aziz, began a private visit to Iran on Tuesday, an Iranian diplomat based in Riyadh told AFP.
The one-week visit will include a meeting with Iran's President Mohammad Khatami and former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the diplomat said.
Ties between Tehran and Riyadh have thawed since Khatami's election in May 1997 and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference's December meeting in Tehran, which Prince Abdallah attended.
Rafsanjani undertook an official ten-day visit to Saudi Arabia in February this year, followed by a visit from Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi.
Last week, Abdallah and Khatami spoke on the telephone, following Iran's announcement that it had tested a new missile with a range of 1,300 kilometres (800 miles).
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Mahmud Mohammadi has said Iran's new missile strength was "essentially defensive and will not be used first against any other country."
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