‘Terrorism may hit West if not eliminated’

At a meeting with Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Jan Kenneth Eliasson in Tehran on Monday evening, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani recalled the efforts of the UN to end Imposer War and stated that, “the trace of benevolent characters is long lasting in history and the UN acted wisely during the war.”

Pointing that regional insecurities are rooted in terrorist actions of colonialists, Rafsanjani said that, “the terrorism which has been shaped by Taliban and al Qaeda has expanded all through Asia, Africa and even Europe under titles like ISIL or Boko Haram.”

He continued , , “although the UN force is not enough to rein these groups, it can use the credibility and value of the international organizations, countries and governments in the fight against terrorist groups, or at least encourage them no to provide terrorists with financial, military, economic or intelligence support,” emphasizing the vital role of the UN in confronting ‘invisible powers’ of terrorism.

Head of Expediency Council further deemed Iraq’s chaotic situation which has led to the loss of its security as very dangerous and said, “taking advantage of young people’s dissatisfaction and by making hollow promises, terrorist groups have set the ground for any suicidal attack and; furthermore, their access to mass destruction weapons is a threat to any country.”

Rafsanjani also enumerated some causes of the strength of terrorist groups like poverty, despair and lack of freedom asserting that, “durability and survival of these causes will bring about global insecurity and the world’s scholars as well as the UN need to eliminate them or at least prevent them from spreading.”

Announcing Iran’s readiness to fight terrorism due to possession of valuable experiences in this regard, he noted, “during the early years of the Islamic Revolution we were faced by extrimist groups who were stimulating people of various areas by their secession slogans; however, the Islamic Republic of Iran could bring back security to the country relying on the wise people and public support.”

The Iranian official deemed respect towards the constitution as important to all Iraqi people, adding, “the best option for preserving the country’s territorial integrity is to have respect for all tribes and all people regardless of their faiths.”

In response to the remarks of the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General who deemed cooperation among the regional countries as the solution to the existing crisis, Hashemi Rafsanjani maintained that, “despite the existing dark atmosphere among these countries, governments can still regain trust towards each other and subsequently bring back security to the region.”

Referring to the climate of détente which was brought about by the efforts of Iran after the Imposed War and in collaboration with other countries, he stressed that, “as a result of those efforts we were experiencing sustainable security in the region with people engaged in peaceful political and economic cooperation until the terrorist groups were shaped due to certain political mistakes.”

Jan Eliasson, for his part, stressed the UN’s efforts to adopt Resolution 598 and added that, “after noticing that Saddam Hussein was planning to use chemical weapons against Iran, we warned the Security Council that the previous events should not be repeated.”

Expressing concerns about the spread of insecurity in the region, Eliasson stated, “those who possess diabolical ideas are trying to take advantage of the current situation for their own interests.”

The UN’s Deputy Secretary-General deemed the 5 + 1 talks with Iran on nuclear issues and the resulting JCPOA as very constructive for the world and said “it is the Iranian people’s right to expand cooperation with the world’s countries.”

He emphasized the role of Iran in dealing with the Syrian crisis and Yemen bombing and added, “civilians and innocent people are being killed; however, these crises can come to an end in near future if the relations among the influential countries in the region be on the path to stability.”

“We need a comprehensive strategy as well as political solution to eliminate the regional insecurity,” said Eliasson asserting, “currently, the Western alliance has turned to military action to deal with ISIL unaware of the fact that war will merely strengthen the bases of terrorists.”

He deemed ethnic and religious differences as a factor in the spread of insecurity in Iraq and noted that, “dividing Iraq into three countries is a political mistake which will not help solve the current crisis; therefore, the legal government of Iraq and its territorial integrity must be supported.”