TUNIS -- Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine ben Ali called for solidarity among the Islamic and Arab countries to confront U.S. unilateralism.

In a meeting with visiting Iranian Vice-President Mohammadreza Aref, Ben Ali also lauded Tehran's efforts to establish unity among Islamic states.

He termed ties between the two countries as "excellent" and called for further consolidation of Tehran-Tunis relations, particularly in the fields of trade and industry.

During the meeting, Aref conveyed warm greetings of President Mohammad Khatami to Ben Ali and stressed on the need for bolstering bilateral cooperation to confront threats which is the Islamic world is currently faced with.

The two sides voiced concern over the outbreak of a possible U.S. war on Iraq and called for peaceful solution of the Iraqi crisis under the UN aegis.

"Ties between Tehran and Tunis are at the highest level," said Aref during a separate meeting with the Governor General of Qairawan Province on Thursday.

Aref expressed determination of the two countries' leaders to expand mutual relations in all fields. He also hoped that economic, scientific and cultural ties between the two sides would further receive a boost in the future, IRNA said.

The Qairawan governor general said he was happy with friendly relations between President Khatami and his Tunisian counterpart. He also called for Iranian cooperation in the fields of tourism and the establishment of foodstuff industry in his province.

Meanwhile, Aref here Friday called for solidarity among Islamic states in order to help settle the Iraqi crisis.

In a meeting with Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Habib Ben Yahia, he stressed that unity among Muslim states will also help establish peace and security in the Middle East region.

Terming regional meetings as a solution to the existing problems, Aref underlined the need for the settlement of the Iraqi problem through peaceful means and within the framework of the UN resolutions.

Stressing on the importance of Iran-Tunisia joint commissions, he called for implementation of the agreements already reached between the two countries.

He further stated that Tehran is interested in expanding bilateral political and economic ties with Tunis.

Referring to the issue of Palestine, the Iranian senior official urged all the Islamic states to help restore legitimate rights of the oppressed Palestinian people.

For his part, the Tunisian foreign minister termed Aref's visit as a turning point in the two countries' bilateral ties and called for further promotion of mutual relations between the two sides.

As to the idea of Dialogue among Civilizations, initiated by the Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Ben Yahia said the idea will be a positive step towards consolidation of unity among all Muslim states. The idea will also help settle the existing problems which the people around the world are faced with, he added.

He voiced his country's readiness to cooperate with all the Islamic and Arab countries to settle the regional tension.

During the meeting, the two officials also stressed on the role of the Islamic states in the reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan.