Israel, biggest threat to regional, global peace: Iran FM

Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says criminal acts of the Israeli regime against the Palestinian people and other regional nations are the biggest threat to the region and the international peace and security.

“Along with the major part of the international community including members of the Non-Aligned Movement, we have always supported a fair policy on Palestine which is based on the Palestinians’ right to determine their own destiny and opposition to the illegitimate occupying regime [Israel],” said Salehi in an address to the NAM expert-level meeting in Tehran on Sunday.

He added that peace in the Middle East would not be established through discriminatory policies, blind support for Israel’s state terrorism, occupation, torture, threat and aggression.

He went on to say that sustainable peace in Palestine and the Middle East would be restored only through justice, putting an end to discrimination and the occupation of the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese lands and the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland.

The top Iranian diplomat described the Israeli regime as “one of the sources of terrorism” and stressed the importance of a firm fight against acts of terror.

“We believe that the Zionist regime [Israel] is one of the sources of terrorism and efforts by the US government to misuse the September 11 terrorist events led to more insecurity in the Middle East region and have laid a new ground to justify the US domineering goals under the pretext of the fight against terrorism,” Salehi stated.

He noted that there is now a good opportunity to take effective steps in order to put an end to all forms of terrorism, including state terrorism backed by Western powers.

The minister pointed to developments in the Middle East and North Africa in more than the past year and said we believe that dialogue, respect for fundamental human rights and the fulfillment of basic needs of people are the only solutions to challenges created by authocratic regimes.

He rejected as “unacceptable” foreign interference and the abuse of regional unrest, saying they would cause an obstacle in the implementation of real democratic moves.

At the opening ceremony of the NAM expert-level meeting, Iran assumed the rotating presidency of the movement for three years.

Egypt’s Ambassador to the United Nations Moataz Khalil formally handed over the presidency of the NAM to Iran.

NAM, an international organization with 120 member states, is considered as not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.

More than 100 countries are partaking in the NAM meeting which kicked off in Tehran on Sunday and is scheduled to end on 31.