Iran and Turkey pledged to work together to confront the disintegration of Iraq and Syria following an October 4 meeting in Tehran between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“We want security and stability in the Middle East... the independence referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan is a sectarian plot by foreign countries and is rejected by Tehran and Ankara,” Rouhani told a joint news conference held with Erdogan, which also dealt with the future of Syria following its long civil war.

For his part, Erdogan said: "From this moment onward, more decisive steps will be taken. As Iran and Turkey - and the [Iraqi] central government - there are still heavier steps for us to take," Reuters reported him as telling reporters, without elaborating.

Erdogan also met with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who subsequently told media that Tehran and Ankara – which are worried about the referendum’s effects on their countries’ own large Kurdish minorities - must prevent Iraq's Kurdistan region from declaring independence, Iranian state TV reported.

"Turkey and Iran must take necessary measures against the vote," Khamenei was quoted as saying. He reportedly added: "America and Israel benefit from the vote... They want to create a new Israel in the region [and this] Iraqi Kurdish secession vote is an act of betrayal toward the entire region."

Israel agrees it backed the Kurds' vote for independence, but denies it had any involvement in it.

After his meeting with Erdogan, Rouhani also declared, without offering further details: "Turkey, Iran, and Iraq have no choice but to take serious and necessary measures to protect their strategic goals in the region."

The meeting of the presidents also produced a bilateral trade breakthrough, with an agreement that Iran will pump more natural gas to Turkey.

“Turkey will import more gas from Iran... meetings will be held next week to discuss the details,” Rouhani said, adding that he and Erdogan wanted to see a big expansion of economic ties.

The gas deal is to be conducted in the neighbouring countries’ own currencies to avoid generating foreign currency pressures.

The September 25 nonbinding referendum for an independent Kurdistan passed with 92.7% support. The turnout was more than 72%.

Baghdad has demanded that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cancel the result of the referendum. If it does not do so it could face further sanctions, international isolation and even military intervention, the Iraqi government says.

Sanctions have been imposed on Kurdish banks by Baghdad and foreign currency transfers to the region have been barred, as have international flights to the Iraqi Kurdish territory's airports.