Iran's foreign minister says the visits to Tehran by European parliamentary delegations suggest the West is inclined to forge closer ties with the Islamic Republic, Press TV reported.
The trips indicate "the willingness of both sides in the current political atmosphere to expand their relations," Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday.
He made the remark in a meeting with Chairman of the Oireachtas (Irish National Parliament) Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee Pat Breen, who is in Tehran at the head of a parliamentary delegation.
He said there exists enormous potential in Iran in different fields, namely trade, which provides suitable ground for the enhancement of relations between the two sides.
Breen, for his part, expressed Dublin's willingness to improve its political and economic ties with Tehran.
The visiting delegation earlier met Iran's Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani as well as Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Majlis.
Prior to the Irish delegation's trip, a four-member British parliamentary team headed by former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw paid a three-day visit to the Iranian capital.
On January 7, the Romanian ambassador to Iran said a parliamentary delegation from his country will pay an official visit to Tehran next week.