Hussein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday.

Amir-Abdollahian expressed his sympathy and solidarity with the Turkish people and government over the recent deadly earthquake.

From the first hours of the earthquake, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the President issued strict orders for solidarity and help to the Muslim people of Turkey, he said, adding that the Red Crescent of Iran, the Army, and the IRGC entered the earthquake-affected areas, and offered services and provide accommodation, and medical assistance.

“Today we had important talks about the importance of developing economic and trade relations,” Amir-Abdollahian said, adding that in the past years, Iran-Turkey trade volume has witnessed an increase due to the will of the leaders of the two countries.

“One of our main concerns is environmental and water issues, and we agree on the importance of continued access of Iran and the people of the western regions of the country to the Aras River,” he also noted.

“When it comes to regional transportation corridors, including the corridors between Iran and Turkey, we emphasize regional partnership instead of the regional competition,” he also said.

Iran, Turkey entitled to defend themselves against terrorists

Referring to the high-level security cooperation between Iran and Turkey regarding the issue of the fight against terrorism, Amir-Abdollahian said, adding, “We consider Turkey’s security as our security.”

Terrorists based in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and ISIL terrorists based in Afghanistan are among common concerns of Tehran and Ankara, he stressed.

Under international law, Iran and Turkey reserve the right to defend against any terrorist act or group, he noted.

Zionists serious threat to regional peace, stability

Amir-Abdollahian also reiterated Tehran’s position about Zionists’ presence in the Caucasus region, saying, “We consider the presence of Zionists in the region as a serious threat to the peace and stability of the region.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran warns all parties to act intelligently towards the behavior of the fake Israeli regime and prevent  Zionists from setting their feet on the region, he underlined.

Referring to the recent agreement reached between Ankara and Baghdad, he said that Iran welcomes participation in any quadrilateral meeting of Iran, Russia, Turkey, and Syria.

“We also reached a consensus on holding the tripartite meeting between Iran, Turkey, and the Republic of Azerbaijan,” he also added.

Deputy FMs of Turkey, Syria, Iran, Russia to meet next week

Cavusoglu, for his part, said that his Iranian counterpart Amir-Abdollahian wanted to join the talks between Turkey, Syria, and Russia, and Turkey happily agreed.

“Astana is the only surviving format (to address) Syria anyway. Now we are planning a meeting between the four foreign ministers,” Cavusoglu added.

“Russia offered to host a preliminary meeting for the preparations of this four-way meeting. This meeting will be held at the level of deputy ministers next week in Moscow,” he also said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Turkish diplomat thanked Iran and its people for their continuous support for the quake-hit people of Turkey.

After the earthquakes in Turkey, Iran acted quickly by sending tents, relief teams, and setting up field hospitals, he said.