TEHRAN - Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani met on Monday with top Lebanese officials, including Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

During the meeting with the Lebanese president, Larijani conveyed a message of President Hassan Rouhani and invited Aoun to visit Iran.

Way to expand relations have been been mentioned in Rouhani’s message.

During a separate meeting with a group of Lebanese intellectuals, Larijani also said Iran is ready to hold political talks with its Arab neighbors.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers political dialogue the solution to problems with certain Arab countries in the region. We are ready for talks,” he said.

He noted that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has announced Iran’s readiness to hold talks with Saudi Arabia.

“We have close ties with a number of Arab neighbors. We do not like severing relations and we believe that misunderstandings can be cleared up through talks,” the top MP said.

He added that there may be some different views, however, it does not mean there is animosity.

Larijani noted that certain Arab countries have been deceived by the United States.

“Iran is against this situation and is not their enemy,” the speaker added.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that Iran is ready for negotiations.

Zarif said that Iran does not seek tension with neighbors and that Iran’s security is tied to security of its neighbors.

“We do not want to have problems with neighbors. Security of neighboring countries is tied to our security,” he noted.

NA/PA