Iran downplays reports on President Raisi’s postponement of trip to Turkey

Nasser Kanaani told a press briefing on Monday, the Iranian and Turkish presidents had agreed to meet on Palestine to follow up on a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in New York.

Kanaani further explained that the US refused to issue a visa for the Iranian foreign minister in time, therefore, the meeting between the two heads of state was postponed.

Earlier, Al-Asharq al-Awsat, citing unofficial sources, had reported that the Iranian president failed to show up last Tuesday at a summit in Ankara that Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier announced to demand Turkey go beyond words and take a firm measure regarding Palestine.

As the Israeli onslaught in Gaza has claimed nearly 18,000 lives since Oct. 7 strikes, the Iranian spokesperson said the failure of the United Nations Security Council to put an end to the occupying regime’s atrocities is a source of concern.

“The Security Council has failed to fulfill its duty efficiently to protect international peace and security and has failed to fulfill its responsibilities,” he stated.

He raised the alarm that the US veto of a UN resolution backed by a vast majority of the Security Council members demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, showed that the Security Council has reached a dead-end.

Kanaani also touched on Iran’s nuclear deal with the West, known as a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying a ‘second JCPOA’ which alters the original 2015 text is not acceptable for Tehran.

“The ideas presented are by those who refused to fulfill their commitments within the framework of the agreement, and they are seeking to get away with deviant ideas,” he said, referring to the Western signatories including the US.