Iranian President Cancels Turkey Visit

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency says Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has canceled a planned visit to Turkey's central Anatolian Konya Province.

The cancellation was announced amid tensions between Turkey and Iran over the Syrian conflict and other issues.

Anadolu quoted diplomatic sources as saying Ahmadinejad could not make the trip because of scheduling problems.

Ahmadinejad had been invited to Konya by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to take part in ceremonies marking the death of Rumi, a 13th-century Sufi mystic.

Turkey has called for President Bashar al-Assad of neighboring Syria to leave power, while Iran has remained an ally of the Syrian regime.

Iran has denounced NATO’s deployment of Patriot missiles, which can shoot down aircraft or missiles, along Turkey’s border with Syria.

Turkey relies on energy imports from Iran.

Based on reporting by Reuters and Anadolu