Rouhani Praises Turkey’s Stance Against US Sanctions

President Hassan Rouhani hailed the Turkish government’s “positive” stance against illegal sanctions imposed by the US against Iran and said Tehran is keen to expand wide-ranging relations with Ankara.
Rouhani made the statement in a Saturday meeting with Speaker of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly Binali Yildirim, who was in Tehran for the second Speakers’ Conference on the Challenge of Terrorism and Inter-Regional Connectivity.
“Iran regards Turkey’s security and stability as that of its own,” he said, calling on the two countries to immediately implement their agreements in all sectors. 
Back in May, US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the Iran nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and decided to reimpose unilateral sanctions against Tehran.
Under the deal, reached between Iran and six major power—the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.
Last month, the Trump administration announced the reimposition of “toughest” sanctions ever against Iran’s banking and energy sectors with the aim of cutting off the country’s oil sales and crucial exports.
A first round of American sanctions had taken effect in August, targeting Iran’s access to the US dollar, metals trading, coal, industrial software and auto sector.
During the meeting with Yildirim, Rouhani commended Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s constructive stance on issues facing the Muslim world and said regional countries should not yield to “wrong decisions” that would harm their interests and hurt cooperation, Press TV reported.
The Iranian president also said Tehran and Ankara have been facing the challenge of terrorism for years, but managed to maintain positive cooperation in the battle against the scourge across the region in recent years.
Yildirim slammed ineffective US sanctions against Iran and said Turkey would keep its relations with Tehran under any circumstances.
"Regional solutions are the only viable way to fight terrorism and warned that any interference by extra-regional powers would create more complications in this regard," he said.

Useful Initiative

In a separate meeting with Pakistani Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser on the same day, the Iranian president called on all neighboring and regional countries to step up their contribution to the all-out fight against terrorism and extremism, saying major powers have created and supported terrorist groups.
Rouhani said the conference, attended by speakers from Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey, was a “good and useful initiative” to improve security in the region and cooperation among regional countries.
“Those who have created terrorist groups in the past decades had in fact committed high treason against regional nations. The US, the West and the Zionist regime [Israel] are supporters of terrorist groups’ activities in Iran,” he said.
The president emphasized that Tehran and Islamabad need to take serious steps to battle terrorism and stressed the importance of resisting US bullying and finding appropriate ways to expand relations among friendly countries.
The Pakistani speaker said Islamabad is prepared to cooperate with Tehran in the fight against terrorism and in promoting regional security.
Qaiser hoped that Iran and Pakistan would strengthen trade and economic cooperation, saying no one would be allowed to harm mutual relations.

Afghanistan Ties  

In a meeting with Afghan Speaker of the House of the People Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, Rouhani said the defeat of terrorism and the establishment of stability, security and economic development in Afghanistan are of high importance to Iran.
Rouhani said Iran is ready to boost cooperation with Afghanistan in the economic sector. He noted that the cultivation and smuggling of narcotics have harmed both the Iranian and Afghan nations, and expressed Tehran’s readiness to cooperate with Kabul in fighting the scourge.
Ibrahimi said Iran and Afghanistan are among the main victims of terrorism in the region and the world.
He added that bilateral cooperation in the campaign against terrorism would benefit both nations and the entire region, and help improve stability and development in the region.