Sep 16, 2016

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani set off Friday for a tour of Venezuela and Cuba before heading to New York for next week's UN General Assembly, official media reported.

Rouhani will take part in a summit of Non-Aligned Movement countries and hold separate talks with Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, the IRNA news agency said.

The 120-nation group was founded more than 50 years ago to represent countries resentful of being squeezed in the power-struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Rouhani's trip comes amid a global oil glut that has seen prices fall dramatically in recent years.

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves and has been hit hard by the price slump.