Iran's Larijani discusses nuclear issue with Turkey: source

ANKARA - Agence France- Presse

Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani talks to the media during a news conference in Tehran, in this file picture taken September 19, 2011. REUTERS Photo

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani on Thursday held talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
 
The source said the fragile situation in Iraq, locked in a political standoff that has raised sectarian tensions after the withdrawal of US troops, also featured during a breakfast meeting.
 
"Of course Iran's nuclear programme was discussed," the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Larijani is due to meet with Turkish parliament speaker Cemil Çiçek, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül and hold a press conference.

The visit of Larijani, a former nuclear negotiator, came amid an international standoff between Tehran and world powers.
 
The United States has ratcheted up pressure on Iran and is spearheading a campaign to squeeze its oil exports over its atomic programme, which the West believes masks a drive to develop atomic weapons.
 
Iran insists the nuclear drive is exclusively for peaceful purposes.
 
The European Union is expected to announce further sanctions of its own, including an oil embargo, at the end of this month.

Turkey has repeatedly said it is only bound by sanctions decided by the UN Security Council. Iran provided about 40 percent of Turkey's oil needs in 2011.
 
Davutoğlu was in Tehran last week, when his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi said he would like to see a resumption of the nuclear talks with world powers last held in Istanbul a year ago.