‘Iran, KSA must unite against extremism’

A senior Iranian official says the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia should make joint efforts to counter extremism in the Muslim world.

Chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said in a Saturday meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Riyadh Hossein Sadeqi that Iran has cooperated with Saudi Arabia at different junctures.

“To fight extremism…a collective effort should be made by all Muslim countries, particularly Iran and Saudi Arabia, in order to prevent a perception that Islamic nations and governments depend on foreign powers to maintain their stability and security,” Rafsanjani said.

He slammed atrocities by Takfiri terrorists across Asia and Africa, noting that the opposition of these groups to some regional governments is merely a pretext to tarnish the image of Islam in the world public opinion and justify Zionist crimes against Muslims.

“The actions of terrorist groups in the region have increased against the backdrop of rifts among Islamic states, which is a disgrace to the Muslim world,” he said.

Rafsanjani warned that crimes committed by Takfiris under the name of Islam will ultimately incite Islamophobia among freedom-seeking nations.

Muslim scholars, particularly in Iran and Saudi Arabia as two influential regional countries, have an obligation to disseminate the call for moderation, unity, fraternity and benevolence in their words, writings and conduct as the real image of Islam, he stated.

In recent years, several Muslim countries including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria have become the scene of atrocious crimes against humanity by Takfiri groups.