Turkish envoy denies Erdogan conveyed Obama’s message to Leader

TEHRAN, April 8 (MNA) – Turkish Ambassador to Iran Umit Yardim dismissed news reports that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed U.S. President Barack Obama’s message to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei during a meeting he held with the Leader on March 29. The Israeli website DEBKAfile reported on April 7 that after a two-hour, 15-minute conversation with Obama in Seoul on March 25, Erdogan undertook to fly to Tehran and personally hand Obama’s six-point message to Ayatollah Khamenei. It said that the note, which laid out the American position for the nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers that were scheduled to open in Istanbul on April 13, was delivered on March 29. Washington Post also reported on April 6 that Obama has signaled Iran that Washington would accept an Iranian civilian nuclear program if Ayatollah Khamenei can back up his recent public statement that his nation “will never pursue nuclear weapons.” This verbal message was sent through Erdogan, the report said. It added that a few days before traveling to Iran, Erdogan had held a two-hour meeting with Obama in Seoul, in which they discussed what Erdogan would tell the Leader about the nuclear issue and Syria. According to the report, Obama didn’t specify whether Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium domestically as part of the civilian program the United States would endorse. Erdogan is said to have replied that he would convey Obama’s views to the Leader, and it’s believed he did so when he met Ayatollah Khamenei. Erdogan also met President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior Iranian officials during his visit. In a speech on February 22, according to the Washington Post, the Supreme Leader said, “There is no doubt that the decision-making bodies in the countries that have aligned themselves against us are well aware of the fact that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons because the Islamic Republic of Iran regards the possession of nuclear weapons as a great sin in terms of thought, theory, and jurisprudence and believes that stockpiling such weapons is useless, very harmful, and very dangerous.” When Obama cited this statement to Erdogan as something to build on, the Turkish prime minister is said to have nodded in agreement.