IRAN DEPUTY FM: TERRORISM MAIN THREAT TO WORLD PEACE
Baghdad , 12 Jumadil Awwal 1435/13 March 2014 (MINA) – An Iranian Foreign Ministry official has singled out terrorism as the major threat to world peace, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Thursday.
“Terrorism is a phenomenon that endangers the lives, security and comfort of people in different forms,” said Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi at an international counter-terrorism conference in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Wednesday.
The Iranian official further noted that irrespective of its victim, “terrorism is a hated and condemned phenomenon.”
He further rejected any discriminatory and selective solution to counter terrorism in the world, saying concern for the interests of a handful of countries shouldn’t hamper efforts to tackle threats to world peace and security.
Israeli “state terrorism”
He termed terrorist acts by the Israeli regime as an obvious example of “state terrorism” that the Western countries overlook.
He pointed out the Western countries’ inaction is among the main reasons behind the ongoing terrorist acts by the Tel Aviv regime and the international community’s failure to cope with such crimes.
He also touched upon Western countries’ contradictory positions on the issue of terrorism in Syria, saying Tehran has always condemned double standards adopted by certain countries toward terrorist groups and categorizing them as “good” and “bad”.
In January, the United States classified militants fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for sending weapons to them.
The militants were classified by Washington as moderates, the foreign-backed ones operating in the south of the country, and extremists, the other militants fighting in Syria.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
Support for terrorists will backfire
Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi has warned that terrorist groups will strike back on the countries currently supporting them.
“The support of certain countries for terrorist groups and using them as a tool for political gains will sooner or later backfire on them (the supporting countries),” Sarmadi said in a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Thursday.
Sarmadi is leading an Iranian delegation to a two-day international counter-terrorism conference, which is wrapping up on Thursday in the Iraqi capital.
He reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s full support for the Iraqi government and nation in their fight against terrorism.
Sarmadi also stated that Iran and Iraq shared views on the necessity of finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria.
During the meeting, al-Maliki, for his part, said the terrorist and extremist groups have extended their activities to beyond the Middle East and their acts of terror have even reached Europe.
In an address to the conference on Wednesday, al-Maliki said, “Terrorism has become a global issue that is geographically expanding and its aftershocks will reach European and international capitals in a short period of time.”
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey – are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
The foreign-sponsored terrorism in Syria has spilled over to neighboring Iraq and the al-Qaeda-linked forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have infiltrated the western Iraqi province of Anbar.
Iraqi security forces have launched a military operation to drive the ISIL terrorists out. (T/E01/IR)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
