BAKU. April 15 (Interfax) - Tehran and Baku have every opportunity to further promote their cooperation in political, cultural, economic and security issues, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said at a meeting with his Azeri counterpart Zakir Hasanov on Monday.
Dehghan was quoted as saying by Iran's news agency IRNA that Iran and Azerbaijan have similar views on regional and international problems.
Furthermore, the new Iranian government is committed to broadening its contacts with neighboring countries and attaches great importance to promoting political relations with Baku, he said.
"Iran is prepared to meet Azerbaijan's needs in the defense sphere," Dehghan said, adding that Hasanov's current visit to Tehran would help bolster cooperation between the two countries in defense issues.
Forging closer ties between regions located near the two states' border is in the security interests of Iran and Azerbaijan, the minister said, describing terrorism as a source of instability in the region.
"The region's states should include the fight against terrorism and violence both within their region and worldwide on their agenda," otherwise, threats facing regional stability may intensify, Dehghan said.
Hasanov, for his part, welcomed the Iranian president's plans to travel to Azerbaijan in the near future, saying that this visit would contribute to defense cooperation between the two countries.
Broadening ties with Iran is high on Azerbaijan's agenda, he said.
When commenting on the signing of documents concerning Tehran's nuclear program by the Iranian authorities and leading world powers, Hasanov said that, hopefully, cooperation with the rest of the world would lead to the closure of the Iranian "nuclear dossier".