President of Iran Ayatollah Ebrahim Raeisi and Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz held a phone conversation on Monday afternoon.

During the phone conversation, the Iranian president pointed to 500-year-old friendly and constructive relations between Iran and Austria and said that the long-standing ties are of great value for continuing them in the future.

The Iranian president expressed regret over the decline in trade relations between the two countries, saying that the decline in trade between the two countries has taken place while both sides did not want this to happen and it is not sensible and justifiable.

Raeisi added, "We must protect the interests of the two countries and not allow ill-wishers to influence these relations."

The president further referred to Afghanistan developments and said, "We believe that the different parties in Afghanistan should consider the withdrawal of the United States as a turning point and in cooperation with each other they achieve a generally accepted governance model."

The President also said that despite being under oppressive sanctions, Iran has hosted Afghan refugees. He added that Iran has relentlessly worked towards peace and security in Afghanistan.

"We are ready to cooperate with all governments that share the responsibility to establish peace and security in Afghanistan," Raeisi said.

The president also welcomed cooperation with Austria in the field of anti-coronavirus vaccines, saying "We are ready to work on joint research on the vaccine."

Sebastian Kurz, for his part, wished success for the new government in Iran.

The Austrian Chancellor also expressed hope that the nuclear negotiations between Iran and other parties will begin as soon as possible and end in a success.

Kurz further expressed his appreciation to Iran for hosting Afghan refugees.

He also thanked President Raeisi for his invitation to pay a visit to Tehran and expressed hope that these conversations continue.