Tehran and Damascus have issued a joint statement emphasizing a diplomatic solution to the contretemps over Iran's peaceful nuclear activities.

In their message, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad have highlighted acquiring nuclear technology for peaceful purposes as an inalienable right for all signatory countries of the the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT), noting that developing countries are no exception to the rule, IRNA reported on Thursday.

"Iran's right to exploit nuclear energy for peaceful purposes should, therefore, be respected," the statement added.

Satisfied with the new direction Iran-IAEA negotiations are following, both sides share the view that the nuclear case should be dealt with by the agency itself.

Iran and Syria also agree that the Middle East should be free of all weapons of mass discussion and expressed grave concern over the nuclear weapons the Zionist regime possesses, which makes Tel Aviv the number one threat to regional peace.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Damascus for a daylong visit on Thursday for talks aimed at cementing the already strong relations between Iran and Syria.