President Hassan Rouhani called for a joint response by the international community to violence, expressing Iran's readiness to cooperate with other countries, including Australia, in combating extremism and terrorism.
Rouhani made the remarks in a meeting with Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in Tehran on Saturday, IRNA reported.
"For a fundamental struggle against the roots of terrorism and to prevent the youth being attracted to terrorist groups, it is essential to identify the causes of this problem and address them through coordinated measures," he stressed.
Describing terrorism as a "big danger" to the Middle East region and humanity, the president said, "All governments and nations need to respond to terrorism and cruelty against innocent people in a timely and integrated manner, regardless of ethnical and religious matters."
Referring to the situation in Yemen and the great catastrophe which is currently taking place in the Arab country, Rouhani called for adopting a political solution to help solve the conflict, saying that "dropping bombs on the defenseless people produces no results."
Elsewhere, the president pointed to the "good" relationship between Iran and Australia and hoped the Australian foreign minister's trip will help promote political, cultural, economic, and tourism cooperation between the two nations.
Broader Anti-Terror Campaign
Prior to the meeting, Bishop attended a joint press conference with her Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, who reiterated Tehran's stance that bombing is not a solution to extremist and terrorist movements in the region and that "a broader campaign" is needed to deal with the challenge, IRNA reported.
Zarif also said he had discussed bilateral and regional issues with the Australian foreign minister, including the shared concern of the two sides over the growth of terrorism in the region as well as the campaign against the dangerous militancy by the so-called Islamic State (IS).
The senior Australian diplomat, for her part, described her meeting with Zarif as "positive".
Characterizing IS as a very "complicated and dangerous type of terrorist group in the world," she said Australia has been engaged in training Iraqi troops as well as the coalition that has conducted airstrikes against IS in Iraq.
Voicing concern over the fact that some Australian nationals have joined the IS terrorist group, she hoped that through the Iraqi government's efforts and launching international campaigns, the Iraqi forces' ability to fight the terrorists will be boosted.
Bishop also expressed pleasure about the progress made in Iranian nuclear talks with the major powers, hoping that the agreement will be "balanced" and bring benefits for both sides.
Issue of Asylum Seekers
In the news conference, the two foreign ministers announced that they had discussed the issue of human trafficking and asylum seekers.
Bishop described negotiations with Zarif on the return of failed Iranian asylum seekers to the country as "positive". In 2003, then-immigration minister of Australia Philip Ruddock struck a deal to repatriate 190 Iranian nationals during a visit to Tehran.
Bishop said she has invited Zarif and other related Iranian officials to travel to Australia to continue consultations on the issue.
