Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi warned the Obama administration against a deeper involvement in the Persian Gulf and insisted that Tehran not Washington was key to stability in the region

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi warned the Obama administration against a deeper involvement in the Persian Gulf and insisted that Tehran not Washington was key to stability in the region.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York Monday evening, Salehi insisted that Washington and Tel Aviv were intentionally providing a "distorted" picture of the Islamic Republic to the international community.

"Iran is part of the solution to all of the regional crises... There is too much Islamophobia, Iranopobia by too many countries. This fear industry is a complicated one based on a belief that these nations are superior and Muslims inferior... It reduces the Iranian nuclear project to simple couple of series of baseless allegations...Iran is the anchor of stability, of security and peace in the Middle East."

Salehi insisted that Tehran has no need to provoke any military confrontations. “No other nation's security is as linked to the Persian Gulf as Iran's. Our imports and exports rely on a secure Persian Gulf. Our security is a collective one, a comprehensive one in which military, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions are all taken into account.”

'Israel' Impeding Nuclear-Free Zone
The Zionist entity, he continued, "is the major player impeding the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East," describing Iran as a responsible player with "legitimate security concerns."

He insisted that the punitive efforts recently aimed at Iran are no more than a "commodity" by outside players and "their local clients."

Referring to the speech in the General Assembly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the foreign minister warned: "The statements on attacking Iran, for whatever reason there may be, is against international peace and security. Why such statements are made is beyond explanation."

Salehi then speculated: "Attacking Iran is a response to an identity and security crisis in Israel and absolutely for domestic political consumption."

The moves by Washington and Jerusalem are an attempt to divert attention from the Palestinian efforts to achieve independence, he added.