Iran confronts extremists in disguise

Iran has identified and taken serious actions against the elements of extremist and terrorist groups from the Middle East who had entered the country on fake purposes, an Iranian Interior Ministry official says.

“Unfortunately, a small number of people, including thugs or [members of] extremist groups in the region, have sometimes entered [Iran] disguised as immigrants or asylum seekers; but after [their] identification, they have been confronted seriously,” said Director General of the Iranian Interior Ministry’s Bureau for Nationals and Immigrants Aziz Kazemi on Tuesday.

Kazemi also dismissed reports about the presence of any Syrian asylum seekers in Iran and added that Tehran has received no request in that regard.

If any individual has such a request, the Iranian official explained, it should be pursued through the legal channels.

Iran has repeatedly warned against the threat of extremist Takfiri groups across the Middle East and called for global action to address the issue.

On December 18, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to approve a resolution based on a proposal by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani under the name of World Against Violence and Extremism (WAVE), which calls on all nations across the globe to denounce violence and extremism.

The Iranian president had made the proposal in his address to the UN Disarmament Conference in New York on September 25.