Larijani Discusses Nuclear Program with Turkey

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani on Thursday held talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear program with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

The source said the fragile situation in Iraq, locked in a political standoff that has raised sectarian tensions after the withdrawal of U.S. troops, also featured during a breakfast meeting.

"Of course Iran's nuclear program was discussed," the source told Agence France Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Larijani is due to meet with Turkish parliament speaker Cemil Cicek, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul and hold a press conference.

The visit of Larijani, a former nuclear negotiator, came amid an international standoff between Tehran and world powers.

The United States has ratcheted up pressure on Iran and is spearheading a campaign to squeeze its oil exports over its atomic program, which the West believes masks a drive to develop atomic weapons.

Iran insists the nuclear drive is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

The European Union is expected to announce further sanctions of its own, including an oil embargo, at the end of this month.

Turkey has repeatedly said it is only bound by sanctions decided by the U.N. Security Council. Iran provided about 40 percent of Turkey's oil needs in 2011.

Davutoglu was in Tehran last week, when his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi said he would like to see a resumption of the nuclear talks with world powers last held in Istanbul a year ago.