Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society in New York, Sept. 26, 2013. Keith Bedford/Reuters

Iran's parliament strongly endorsed President Hassan Rouhani's diplomatic bid to dispel mistrust at the United Nations last week during a visit that ended with a phone call with President Barack Obama, the country’s semi-official news agency Iranian Fars said.

The backing from the assembly, controlled by political factions deeply loyal to Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a further sign that Rouhani has the support of the Iranian establishment.

Khamenei, the most powerful figure in Iran, has yet to publicly comment on Rouhani's trip.

Rouhani briefed parliamentarians on his trip, which included discussions on Iran's nuclear dispute with the West and regional relations, the student news agency ISNA said late Tuesday.

A group of 230 parliamentarians, out of the total of 290, signed a statement expressing their support of Rouhani for presenting the image of a "powerful and peace-seeking Iran which seeks talks and interaction for the settlement of regional and international issues," Fars news agency said.

While Rouhani's visit to New York has boosted hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in talks to resolve the 10-year-old dispute over Iran's nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed it on Tuesday as a ruse concocted by a "wolf in sheep's clothing."

The United States, Israel and other countries accuse Iran of using its nuclear program as a veil for efforts to try to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says the program is for peaceful energy purposes only.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Netanyahu and "the Zionist lobby" were trying to hinder negotiations.

"We will not let Netanyahu determine the future of our talks," Zarif wrote on his Facebook page.

The next round of the talks between Iran and the six world powers are set to be held in Geneva on Oct. 15-16.

Rouhani told the U.N. General Assembly last week that Iran was willing to engage immediately in "time-bound" talks on the nuclear issue.