Azerbaijan, Baku, June 11 /Trend S.Isayev/
The foreign ministry of Iran doesn't intend to issue any responses to the claims of the presidential candidates regarding country's foreign policy, the ministry's spokesman Abbas Aragchi said at the press conference earlier today, Press TV channel reported.
"There is electoral fever going on all over the country. As far as the statements of the respectful presidential candidates go, the ministry doesn't intend to respond to that," Aragchi said.
Iran will hold the 11th presidential election on June 14, 2013. The voters will select the successor of the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is not able to participate in the elections for the third term according to the country's constitutional laws.
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election. Currently, there are 7 approved candidates running for the elections.
Protests in Turkey
Regarding recent protests in Turkey, Aragchi was asked a question about the arrested Iranian nationals in the neighboring country.
"We took action, as soon as the information came through, and requested councelor access to those who were detained. There was a big number of foreigners arrested during the unrests, and first thing we wanted to know, if the arrested ones were Iranians," Aragchi noted.
Previously, on June 5, Aragchi denied Iran's possible involvement in the protests in Turkey. He rejected the fact that Iran's intelligence services participated in the unrests in the country.
"We watch the developments in Turkey very closely," the spokesman said. "This is an internal, domestic issue. We hope that all parties would be able to come to a peaceful settlement."
The spokesman added that there were situations worse than the current one, and Turkey has gone through those.
"Turkey is a great country, a great neighbor of ours, and we hope that this issue will be settled peacefully, with wisdom," he said.
The protests against the reconstruction of the Gezi Park on Taksim Square in Istanbul lasted more than 10 days. On the eve protesters also clashed with the police on Kizilay square in Ankara.
Istanbul police blocked roads leading to Taksim Square, CNN Turk TV channel reported on Tuesday, as there are some groups that continue protests at Taksim Square.
Deadly blasts in Iraq
The spokesman of Foreign Ministry was also asked a question about the latest blasts in Iraq, where Iranian pilgrims were killed.
"The Foreign ministry is in close contact with the Iraqi officials, urging them to provide more security to the Iranian pilgrims there," Aragchi said. "Iran holds Iraq responsible for security of Iranian nationals."
Press TV reported that 16 Iranian pilgrims were killed in a terrorist bomb attack in the Iraqi city of Muqdadiyah in Diyala Province, about 80 km northeast of the capital Baghdad, last Friday.
The blast, killing nearly 20 people overall, ripped through the pilgrims' bus, which was heading for the holy city of Najaf. At least 45 others, many of them thought to be Iranians, were also wounded in the bombing.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Araqchi on Saturday described the attack as indiscriminate, unjust, and counter to all human and Islamic principles.
Iraq has seen a sharp increase in violence in recent months against a background of protests by the Sunni Arab minority against the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.