Mideast crises to be settled through cooperation: Iran

A senior Iranian official has urged settling regional conflicts through the collective cooperation of all countries and a correct understanding of the situation in the region.

The remark was made by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi in a meeting with Irish Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Barry Robinson in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday.

The Iranian official also referred to Iran’s proven track record of playing a constructive role in defusing regional crises, highlighting the need for a political settlement of the Syria conflict.

“Regional and transregional countries which deployed all of their political, economic, and military means with the aim of toppling the Syrian government now, after three years, admit to their strategic mistake and the accuracy of the Islamic Republic’s analysis and prediction [of the crisis in Syria] and acknowledge that the Syrian crisis has no military solution,” Sarmadi said.
The Iranian official further referred to the violence instigated by terrorists in Iraq as well as the support offered to them by certain countries, saying, “Available information shows that these countries, having a misunderstanding of Iraq’s situation, are still rewarding terrorists and bypassing democracy and law.”

“The countries that fuel violence in our region with plots and heavy costs will witness that terrorists returning from Syria and Iraq will threaten their security,” Sarmadi said.
The Irish diplomat, for his part, said that his country strongly opposes terrorism and violence, adding that the Syria crisis has no military solution.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence unprecedented in recent years.

Over the past few days, Iraqi armed forces have been engaged in fierce clashes with the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists, who have overrun parts of the Arab country since last month and have announced a so-called Islamic caliphate.