(IRNA) - Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said here Sunday that as a country neighboring, Iran has always paid attention to Iraq's security and stability.
The spokesman made the remark in his week's press briefing, while responding to a question about the US President George W. Bush's proposed plan on cooperation between Iran and Syria in promoting Iraq's security, reports Trend.
Hosseini said that security and stability in Iraq will pave the way for that country's development, adding that this has been discussed by Iranian and Iraqi officials in the past.
Meanwhile, in response to a reporter, the spokesman dismissed the impact of talks between Iran's top nuclear negotiator and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana on making the second nuclear centrifuge cascade operational in Iran.
"Iran will continue its research and development in the nuclear sector within the framework of NPT," he noted.
The official referred to last week's visit of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to Iran and said that the country's nuclear activities were reported to IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.
Asked about Spain's plan on Iran-Syria cooperation in the Middle East peace process, he said that any meeting aiming to examine the Middle East issue should first of all seek the source of the crisis in the region while taking into consideration the rights of Palestinian nation.
Turning to the role of Zionist regime in sowing the seed of discord among Palestinian groups to its own benefit, the spokesman called on Hamas and Fatah to continue their talks to resolve the issue peacefully.
On the visit of German Parliamentary delegation to Tehran, he said that Germany's stance on Iran's nuclear issue and related talks is clear and referred to its discord with other parties in this respect.
Hosseini pointed to the difference of views between the US and Europe on one side and that of US-Europe and China-Russia on the other, saying that despite such discord, they believe that talks should continue.
The spokesman underlined that Iran welcomes any proposal based on the option of negotiation.
About Mottaki's visit to Syria, he said that it has to do with assessment of bilateral, regional and international developments.
In response to a question whether Iran has a role in reducing Iraq-Syria discord, he said that Iran has always called on regional states to resolve their discords through talks.
"Iran makes use of its relations with the countries of the region to promote regional security and peace," said the minister.
Responding to a question about the possibility of sanctions against Iran and whether Iran has been assured by Russia and China that anti-Iran sanctions are unlikely, he said that both countries are striving towards this end, but that it depends on the outcome of the talks between the two sides.
Meanwhile, the spokesman called on Qatar's government to revise its stance on inviting officials of the Zionist regime to attend the sixth international conference on new and revived democracies.
On fingerprinting American citizens, he said, "According to the remarks of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we have nothing against American people to make their visit to our country difficult." About Iran's response to Europe's package of proposal and the United Nations Secretariat's approach to it, he said, "This was a transparent measure to clarify our stance within the framework of international laws."
He concluded, "Besides, we called on the UN to register our proposal as a document."