Iran calls for ‘collective response’ towards global terrorism

Iran has called for a “collective response” towards extremism, terrorism, and Takfiri ideology, which are all threatening the whole world.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made the comments during a UN Security Council meeting held in New York on Wednesday.

Zarif said all of the global community must be given the chance to battle terrorism. He added that Iran is fully aware that it must not “live in the past” and that serious talks over regional problems must be given a chance as his country believes that its “neighbors’ security” equal its own.

He also warned that if the crisis in the region is left unchecked, none of the members of the global community will be left unscathed from its consequences, adding that as the threat is global it requires the whole world’s attention.

The Iranian foreign minister also voiced regrets over the fact that “one or two neighboring countries have not been able to realize this common threat,” and over their “irresponsible” actions with regard to regional matters, especially the victims of the recent Hajj tragedy.

On September 24, two large crowds of pilgrims, who were on their way to participate in the symbolic stoning of Satan, a Hajj ritual, collided in Mina, resulting in a fatal crush. According to the head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, Saeed Ohadi, 239 Iranian pilgrims have so far been confirmed dead in the incident. Twenty-seven Iranian pilgrims have also been wounded and 241 others remain unaccounted for.

In a separate meeting with Luxemburg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn held earlier in the day, Zarif called on the European Union to play a more active role with regard to the Hajj tragedy and the situation in Yemen, where thousands of people have killed in Saudi Arabia’s military aggression against the impoverished Arab country since March.