Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday blamed Washington for the ongoing regional crises, and called on the US officials to understand the realities instead of blaming others.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday blamed Washington for the ongoing regional crises, and called on the US officials to understand the realities instead of blaming others.
Zarif's remarks came in reaction to the recent statements of his US counterpart John Kerry who in a letter to the US congressmen said he shares the concern with them on "Iran's support for the terrorist and proxy groups".
“Unfortunately, Washington's regional policies have fueled violence and extremism; the US allies in the region are currently supporting violence and extremism directly and indirectly,” Zarif said, addressing a joint press conference with his Czech counterpart Lubomir Zaoralek in Tehran.
The Iranian foreign minister reiterated that the US officials and other international actors should avoid making “irrelevant remarks" and stop stirring a more chaotic situation in the region, and said, "The US officials should understand the realities in the region."
Zarif, meantime, criticized the inhuman treatment of refugees who are fleeing their homelands to different parts of the world to get away from extremism and terrorism, and reminded that "Iran has hosted millions of refugees from its neighboring countries in the last three decades."
He expressed Iran's readiness, as a serious actor and a peace-seeking country in the region, to cooperate with regional states and the international community to fight violence and extremism.
Earlier today, Iranian President Sheikh Hassan Rouhani in a meeting with new Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Rajih al-Mussawi underlined the need for putting an end to foreign interference and terrorism in the region.
"Without doubt, establishment of peace and tranquility in Iraq is equal to the establishment of security and serenity in Iran,'" Sheikh Rouhani said, underlining the need for uprooting terrorism and presence of foreign troops in the region.
The Iranian president said that Tehran attaches great importance to the expansion of relations with Baghdad, and added, "Iran and Iraq enjoy vast untapped potentials for expansion of relations in economic, cultural, and political arenas."
"We wish victory for the Iraqi nation in its fight against terrorism and hope that all Iraqi ethnic groups come to live under one flag in peace and tranquility," he added.
