TEHRAN – Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi on Monday dismissed any connection between North Korea’s rocket launch on Sunday and Iran’s missile activities, saying this is not the first time they have launched the rockets.

Tehran believes any activity by any country in the sensitive region of eastern Asia must be in line with stabilizing the region, he told reporters.
He also dismissed reports that former Iranian president Ayatollah Mohammad Khatami and the U.S. president Barack Hussein Obama were going to hold a meeting in Istanbul.
An informed source close to Ayatollah Mohammad Khatami on Sunday told the Mehr News Agency that Obama had expressed his willingness to meet with Mohammad Khatami on the sidelines of Alliance for Civilizations summit.
The summit opened in Istanbul on Monday and will last till this evening.
He said Khatami has no plan to meet Obama but “we should wait to see what will happen in the summit”.
On Iran’s stance toward the U.S. new policy in Afghanistan, he said Afghanistan’s security is important for Iran and any action taken to stabilize this country should take into account Afghan people’s interests.
According to IRNA, Qashqavi said the world public opinion does not consider Iran’s peaceful nuclear program as a threat.
Despite some Western states’ propaganda against Iran, the world public opinion by no means considers the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program a threat to global peace and security, he added.
Meanwhile, Qashqavi announced that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem is to arrive in Tehran on Wednesday to review issues of mutual interest with Iranian officials.
The visit is in line with regular consultations on bilateral and regional issues, he added.
Referring to Tehran-Damascus relations as friendly and consolidated, he said the two sides are determined to further strengthen their ties