Presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Ankara to reinforce relations with Turkey immediately after the 2007 NIE report was released. Relations were briefly strained after President Abdullah Gul had stated that he wants the atomic threat to be eliminated from the region, perhaps a hint to Iran; however, business has remained cordial between the two countries. Despite US disapproval, they signed a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline deal in late 2007. Iran's relations with the Arab states have been complex, partly due to the Islamic Revolution of decades ago, as well as more recent efforts by the United States to establish a united front against Iran over
Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Abdullah Saleh (, "ʿAlī ʿAbdullāh Ṣāliḥ"; 21 March 1947 – 4 December 2017) was a Yemeni politician who served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) from July 1978, after the assassination of President Ahmad al-Ghashmi, to 22 May 1990, when he became the first President of Yemen following Yemeni unification. He led the country until his resignation on 25 February 2012 following the Yemeni Revolution. Saleh oversaw his country's development of deeper ties with Western powers, especially the United States, in their "War on Terror". In 2011, in the wake of the "Arab