TEHRAN Tunisian Minister of Culture Abdelbaki Hermassi arrived in Tehran Thursday at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Ataollah Mohajerani for a five-day state visit.

During his stay in Iran, Hermassi is to confer with several ranking Iranian officials including Iran's First Vice President Hassan Habibi, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamal Kharrazi. He is also to attend Iran-Tunisia Joint Cultural Commission.

Mohajerani told IRNA here today that the Tunisian minister of culture would also tour historical monuments in Shiraz and Isfahan.

Also, Mohajerani extended his condolences on the death of Iranian renowned calligrapher Hossein Tehrani who succumbed to a cerebral arrest on Wednesday.

"The works of this loyal artist will remain everlasting in the art history of the Islamic Iran," his message read.

Veteran Tehrani died at the age of 40. He was born in Iranian calendar year of 1339 (1960) in Tehran. He managed to reach high degrees in nine calligraphy styles in his days of youth.

His works were displayed in calligraphy exhibitions set up in India, Pakistan and Turkey. He also held two individual exhibition in Lebanon and Algeria.

(IRNA)