BEIRUT: Lebanon Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri Monday expressed hope that the recent unprecedented nuclear agreement between Western powers and Iran would positively influence ties between Tehran and its Arab neighbors.

“The deal of the century that was reached [Sunday] was a great opportunity that Iran reached through its patience, courage, wit, strength and resilience and it is a chance for Iran to get over a lot of issues,” said Berri, speaking during a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani in Tehran.

“I discussed [with Larijani] and will discuss with other officials how this patience can [influence other issues and countries], mainly in Syria and in the [Iranian and] Arab ties,” he said.

An interim deal to restrict Iran's nuclear program was reached Sunday after five days of top-level talks in Geneva, Switzerland.

The agreement was welcomed by Qatar, Kuwait and Iran’s only two Arab allies - Iraq and Syria – while Saudi Arabia has cautiously welcomed the deal.

For his part, Larijani said he agreed with Berri’s proposal and that Iran should seize the opportunity to strengthen its relations with its Arab neighbors.

“What Speaker Berri suggested is a deep approach based on laying the foundations of friendship between Iran and Arab and Muslim countries,” Larijani said, according to a live Arabic translation.

Larijani said that his country was seeking “solid, long-term” ties with Arab neighbors with "arms wide open" but that “some are trying to destabilize such ties.”

Berri, who arrived in the Iranian capital Sunday, met Monday with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and also held talks with President Hasan Rouhani that focused on bilateral ties and regional developments.

Rouhani welcomed Berri and hoped the speaker’s visit would enhance ties between the two countries.

Berri, during the joint news conference with Larijani, also addressed last week’s deadly attacks outside the Iranian Embassy in the Beirut neighborhood of Bir Hasan and said that Al-Qaeda was behind the suicide bombings “which all Lebanese sides have condemned.”

“The explosion was carried out by two terrorists from Al-Qaeda and they were identified as a Lebanese and a Palestinian national,” he added.

Lebanon identified over the weekend the two suicide bombers responsible for the attack.

A security source raised over the weekend the death toll of the bombings from 25 to 29. More than 150 people were also wounded.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Abdallah Azzam Brigades claimed earlier responsibility for the suicide bombings, the first to target an embassy in Lebanon since the country’s 1975-90 Civil War.