Iranian, Turkish presidents discuss ties, sign 8 cooperation documents

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has held talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and signed eight agreements on cooperation.

A meeting between the president has been held behind closed doors, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on July 19.

The documents on joint cooperation between Iran and Turkey were signed in the presence of the presidents, after the discussions. 

Erdogan arrived in Iran on July 18, at the official invitation of President Ebrahim Raiesi and at the head of a high-level delegation of political and economic officials of Turkey. He is scheduled to attend the seventh meeting of the Iran-Türkiye High Cooperation Council.

The Turkish president will also participate in the tripartite meeting of heads of states of the Astana Format, which will be held tonight in Tehran.

The presidents of Iran, Turkey, and Russia will discuss the peace process in Syria.

Erdogan also met with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 19. Khamenei said during that meeting that maintaining the territorial integrity of Syria is very important, and any military attack on northern Syria will definitely harm Turkey, Syria and the entire region, and benefit terrorists. 

He also expressed his satisfaction with the return of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan, saying, "of course, if there is a policy to block the border between Iran and Armenia, the Islamic Republic will oppose it because this border has been a communication route for thousands of years".