Iran hails Turkey support for diplomacy

Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani has hailed Turkey for supporting a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear activities.

In a meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul on the sidelines of the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in Istanbul on Sunday, Larijani expressed hope that Iran’s nuclear issue would eventually be resolved through diplomatic means.

President Gul, for his part, expressed hope that the ongoing talks between Iran and the P5+1 — the five permanent members of the UN security Council plus Germany — would clear the West’s misunderstandings concerning Tehran’s nuclear program.

“We are happy to see that Iran has effectively made use of diplomatic capacities in resolving problems and we hope to find a suitable solution in the future,” he added.

Gul expressed satisfaction about the agreements reached between Tehran and Ankara and said, “We welcome Iranian investments in economic projects in Turkey.”

The United States and its European allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have been pushing for the imposition of new and tougher UNSC sanctions against Iran.

Iran has repeatedly rejected the accusations, saying nuclear weapons have no place in the country’s political and religious doctrine.