Tasnim� Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed concern over security problems facing the Middle East, saying closer cooperation between Tehran and Ankara can help resolve them.

In a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Thursday, President Rouhani offered his congratulations on Eid al-Adha, one of Islam�s holiest festivals celebrated annually around the world, and hailed the ties between the two countries as �cordial and growing�.

Rouhani said his administration is determined to promote the Islamic Republic�s bilateral relations with Turkey as a �friendly neighbor�.

�Today, the sensitive regional situation is such that the two countries should cooperate more than ever in order to establish stability and security in the region,� the Iranian president said.

Also, in apparent reference to the Iraqi Kurdistan region�s planned referendum on independence and the rift between Qatar and some other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, Rouhani said that �Iran never considers certain secessionist tendencies in the region and the problems that have emerged in the Persian Gulf region as being in the interest of regional peace and stability.�

Erdogan, for his part, congratulated Rouhani on Eid al-Adha and said Ankara is resolved to deepen its relations with Tehran in all political and economic areas.