The visiting Turkish president made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Press TV in Tehran on Tuesday.
“We want to see this dispute solved in a peaceful way… through diplomacy and dialogue,” he said.
Commenting on Turkey's military cooperation with the United States in NATO, he said that the US cannot use bases on Turkish soil for military purposes, such as for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, unless Ankara gives official approval.
He stated that every military facility in Turkey is under the control of Turkish commanders, noting that “without our knowledge, nothing can happen there.”
Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and thus has the right to enrich uranium to produce fuel.
Tehran has always insisted that its nuclear energy program is totally peaceful.
And the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.
However, in a politically motivated move, the West accuses Iran of seeking to develop a military nuclear program.
To solve the standoff, the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, and Brazil signed a declaration in Tehran on May 17, according to which Iran would ship 1200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey to be exchanged for 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.
Despite the fact that Iran agreed to conduct the fuel swap in a third country, the US and its European allies snubbed the declaration and pushed through a United Nations Security Council resolution imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran.
The interview will be broadcast on Press TV on February 16 at 20:35GMT and rerun on February 17 at 01:35GMT, 06:35GMT and 14:35GMT. source
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