Ankara - Iran has asked Turkey to play a role in bringing Tehran and Washington together to discuss mutual concerns, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday night.

"We have said this before: we are ready. Iran wants us to play a role," Erdogan said in a panel interview including Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa during a flight to Ankara, after local election campaigning in the south-eastern city of Mardin.

Erdogan said he had told former US president George W Bush of Iran's overture but had yet to discuss the matter with new US President Barack Obama.

The new US administration has hinted that it is ready for some kind of negotiations with Iran concerning Tehran's nuclear programme, as well as opening talks on topics such as the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

NATO-member Turkey is a key US ally in the region and has recently tried to play a more active role in the Middle East. Turkey was host to indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria, which were suspended following Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip. (pa)