Iran, Azerbaijan sign MoUs, agreements for cooperation

The deals were signed by senior officials of Iran and Azerbaijan in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his visiting Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev in Tehran on Tuesday.

According to the agreements, Tehran and Baku will strengthen cooperation in various sectors including customs, animal husbandry, railway transportation, electricity, health and medical sciences, labor, women and social affairs as well as oil and gas.

Iran-Azerbaijan relations strategic: Rouhani

Addressing a Tuesday meeting with Aliyev in the presence of the two countries’ high-ranking officials, Rouhani said Tehran and Baku enjoy strategic and cordial relations under the current circumstances in the region, adding that no obstacle can hinder the expansion of ties.

He said the two countries should make use of opportunities created after the implementation of a nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries last July.

Rouhani emphasized that in the post-JCPOA era, the expansion of relations with neighbors is a priority in the country’s foreign policy.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany started to implement the JCPOA on January 16.

After the JCPOA went into effect, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US were lifted. Iran in return has put some limitations on its nuclear activities. The nuclear agreement was signed on July 14, 2015, following two and a half years of intensive talks.

"The principled policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is [based on] defense for neighboring countries and safeguarding their territorial integrity and cooperation with neighbors are issues of importance for us,” the Iranian president pointed out.

He condemned foreign intervention in internal affairs of countries under different pretexts such as human rights.

"We are currently faced with the West’s double standards on the issue of human rights and we should make efforts to pursue common wisdom and logic in dealing with regional issues and their settlement,” Rouhani said.

He noted that Iran and Azerbaijan share stance on major regional issues, including security and stability.

Iran believes that the Caspian Sea is the "sea of friendship” with neighboring countries, he said, adding that Tehran and Baku have held good talks that can help bolster cooperation among the sea’s littoral states.

Inseparable Iran-Azerbaijan bonds: Aliyev

The Azeri president said Iran and Azerbaijan have inseparable bonds due to their common history and culture.

Aliyev added that Tehran and Baku have managed to make considerable progress towards bolstering relations in all fields.

The Azeri president arrived in Tehran Tuesday morning at the head of a high-ranking politico-economic delegation.

Iran and Azerbaijan have been working on a key North-South transport corridor, which is expected to connect Northern Europe to Southeast Asia through their territories.

According to preliminary estimates, the overall capacity of the rail link will be 1.4 million passengers and 5-7 million metric tons of cargo a year.