Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says that both Iran and Turkey support the current Syrian ceasefire and the preservation of Syria’s territorial integrity.
On Sunday, a report by the government-owned Iran Daily quotes Mr Rouhani as saying, “There is no difference” between the two countries regarding stopping the war and “providing relief assistance to displaced people”.
His remarks came during a meeting with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ahead of talks between the Syrian government and Opposition later in March.
Turkey is a leading backer of the rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Iran, along with Russia, has strongly backed Mr Assad.
Meanwhile, the United States is set to deploy its nuclear-capable B-52 warplanes for the first time to bomb ISIS as part of its efforts to ramp up the campaign against terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
The B-52 Stratofortress could begin dropping bombs on the ISIS group from April, the Air Force Times reported.
The bombers would be headed to the Central Command area of operations to replace the B-1 Lancers, the last of them returning in January, officials were quoted saying at an Air Force Association conference.
The B-1s should return after they receive additional upgrades.
However, it is not clear how many B-52s or the number of airmen, under the Air Force Global Strike Command, will be deployed for the potential operation.
The aircraft, which had been used to drop unguided bombs in previous wars, including Afghanistan, can now be used to provide backup with the accuracy of precision-guided munitions.
If scheduled, it would be the first deployment for the bombers to fight ISIS targets.
“We’re going to keep the B-52 around. It provides some missions for us that are hard to replicate, primarily the range and payload the airplane provides,” Lt Gen. James “Mike” Holmes, the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, said in February.
The B-52, nicknamed the “big ugly fat fella” or Buff, has a payload capacity of 70,000 pounds, which includes “gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision guided (cruise) missiles and joint direct attack munitions”.
The United States decided to pull out the B-1 bombers, one of the most dependable American weapons, for upgrades.
