TERHAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is in Turkey to participate in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, met with a number of his foreign counterparts and officials to discuss Iran’s foreign relations.

Zarif travelled to the Turkish city of Antalya to attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. In addition to delivering a speech at the forum, Zarf had many meetings with foreign officials scheduled on his agenda.

“On the sidelines of this forum, the Iranian foreign minister will hold meetings with a number of high-ranking officials, including the foreign ministers participating in the event, and will also take part in a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan,” spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Thursday.

According to Khatibzadeh, new opportunities for peace and cooperation in the South Caucasus, reinforcement of regional solidarity, regional collaborations in Asia, relations with Africa, the issues of West Asia and the Persian Gulf, transatlantic relations, the issues of refugees and immigrants, economic diplomacy and trade, communications and the spread of fake news in the cyberspace were among the most important issues which were to be discussed at the forum.

In Antalya, Zarif met with the Iraqi foreign minister, Venezuelan foreign minister, Croatian foreign minister, European Union foreign policy chief, former Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation.

In meeting with Iraq’s Foreign Minister Faud Hussein, Zarif reminded about the importance of cooperation between regional and neighboring states and establishing security.

In a recent meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Qatar, Hussein told his Egyptian counterpart that Iraq is ready to host dialogue to settle disputes between regional and neighboring states.

Zari also expressed happiness over an agreement to connect the railways between Shalamch in the Iran side to Basra in Iraq.

For his part, the chief Iraqi diplomat called economic cooperation between Iraq and Iran constructive.

Zarif and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza also exchanged views about bilateral, regional and international issues in which the two countries share common views.

The two foreign ministers also shared views on the Vienna nuclear deal talks and pointed to the illegal U.S. moves for a revitalization of the 2015 nuclear deal.

The Venezuelan foreign minister said Caracas will not forget the difficult day in which Iran sent oil tankers to Venezuela despite threats and pressure by the United States.

Arreaza also lamented the U.S. sanctions on the Venezuelan government which has caused problems for the country to import the Coronavirus vaccine.

In his talks with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, Zarif said many Iranian companies who were working with Croatia faced problems due to the U.S. sanctions and it is hoped that they would resume interactions.

The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on the Vienna talks aimed to revived the JCPAO, the official name the Iran nuclear deal.

Foreign Minister Grlic Radman also called for deepening ties with Iran as an ancient nation with a rich culture.

He also congratulated victories by the national Iranian football team and said it is a source of joy that the Croatian head coach is leading the Iranian team.

In his meeting with senior Afghan peace official Afghan Adullah Abdullah, Zarif also expressed concern over security situation in Afghanistan and insisted on the need for intra-Afghan talks.

Abdullah also thanked Iran for Iran’s constructive actions to bring peace to Afghanistan and briefed Zarif about the latest developments in Afghanistan.

Zarif also held talks with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Antalya during which Iran’s chief diplomat insisted on the need for removal of U.S.-led sanctions on Iran.

During the talks, Zarif pointed to Iran’s “bitter experiences” during Donald Trump’s presidency in which his administration violated the nuclear deal, saying there is no possibility for renegotiating the terms of the agreement and expressed hope that the nuclear deal talks in Vienna would bear fruit.

At the meeting, Borrell expressed hope that the Vienna talks would bear result.

Zarif also pointed to the ongoing developments in Afghanistan, saying political infighting within the Afghan government and also between political groups are serious hurdles to counter insecurity in the central Asian country.