Iran, North Korea sign technology agreement

Iran and North Korea signed a scientific and technological cooperation agreement Saturday, bringing the two nations, both of which are deeply at odds with the U.S., closer together.

Iranian state TV did not provide further details on the document, but said it included an agreement to set up joint scientific and technological laboratories, exchange scientific teams and share technology in the fields of information technology,engineering, biotechnology, renewable energy, the environment, sustainable development of agriculture and food technology.

Any technical accord between Pyongyang and Tehran is likely to raise suspicions in the West. The U.S. has repeatedly accused North Korea of providing Iran with advanced missiles capable of targeting Western European capitals.

Last year, Iran denied a U.N. panel report saying that North Korea and Iran appear to have been regularly exchanging ballistic missiles, components and technology in violation of U.N. sanctions.

Iran’s state TV said the agreement was signed in Tehran in the presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and North Korea’s nominal head of state, Kim Yong-nam, by Iran’s Minister of Science, Research and Technology Kamran Daneshjoo and North Korea’s Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Kim, who serves as the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, that North Korea and Iran have ‘‘common enemies.’’

‘‘Arrogant powers don’t tolerate independent governments,’’ Khamenei told Kim. ‘‘In the march toward great goals, one should be serious, and pressures, sanctions and threats should not cause any crack in [our] determination.’’

In a separate meeting, Ahmadinejad said Kim’s visit would have a ‘‘great impact on strengthening bilateral ties, expanding cooperation and boosting the anti-hegemonic front.’’

Both countries are bitter enemies of the U.S. and the West. Iranian and North Korean officials have said in the past that their nations are in ‘‘one trench’’ in the fight against the Western powers.

Meanwhile, in Cairo, Egyptian officials denied reports that ties between their country and Iran have strengthened following a meeting between Ahmadinejad and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi during the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran last week.

Morsi's spokesman, Yasser Ali, said Friday, "During their meeting, the presidents did not discuss political rapprochement between Iran and Egypt, nor the renewal of diplomatic relations between the two countries."

Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam, meanwhile, reported over the weekend that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denied an invitation by Ahmadinejad to travel to Iran on an official visit.

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