Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes his country's strategic alliance with Israel remains alive, but does not hesitate to reach out to Iran as well.

"There is no doubt he is our friend," Erdogan told British newspaper The Guardian in an interview published Monday, referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "As a friend so far we have very good relations and have had no difficulty at all."

He also slammed the Israeli foreign minister once again, claiming that Avigdor Lieberman had threatened to use nuclear weapons against Gaza.

The Turkish leader justified his ties with Iran, dismissing claims that his criticism against Israel could harm his country's relations with the United States.

"I don't think there is any possibility of that," he said. "America's policy in this region is not dictated by Israel." The US recently related messages to Turkey that it should lower the flames of its conflict with Israel for fear of harming American interests.

And what about Western accusations that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon? According to Erdogan, "Iran does not accept it is building a weapon. They are working on nuclear power for the purposes of energy only."

According to The Guardian, Erdogan is due to arrive in Tehran this week for talks with Ahmadinejad and Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that will focus on commercial ties, including Turkey's need for Iranian natural gas.

The talks on Turkey's bid to join the European Union, which were questioned due to human rights issues, are not expected to influence the prime minister's meetings with decision makers. Erdoghan expressed dissatisfaction over Sarkozy policy and vowed Turkey's will to become a bridge between Europe and the Muslim World.

Erdogan clarified that he would not raise the post-election crackdown in Iran with his hosts, saying it would represent "interference" in Iranian domestic affairs.

The Guardian says Erdogan's views will interest US foreign policy makers, who have long seen his AKP government as a model of a pro-western "moderate Islam" that could be adopted in other Muslim countries. US President Barack Obama signaled Turkey's strategic importance in a visit last April and has invited the prime minister to visit Washington.