TEHRAN: Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani says Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow “Zionist aggressors to affect the stability and security of the region.”
Ali Bagheri Kani made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Baghdad on Thursday.
The top Iranian diplomat said that Israel may commit another mistake, but Iran resolutely responded to the foolishness of the regime and used its legitimate right to defend itself and punished the aggressor.
While referring the Zionist regime as a main source of tension and instability, Bagheri Kani emphasized that regional countries are in interaction to build a safe and stable West Asia together. “This solidarity between the countries should be strengthened more than ever.”
He also touched on Gaza and said that if the US determined in its political initiatives to stop the war and bloodshed in Gaza, it should stop helping the aggressor Zionists with arms and military aid. Americans cannot, on the one hand, deliver the most advanced weapons to the aggressor and occupying Zionists to attack the defenseless people of Gaza in their homes and tents, and on the other hand, launch political initiatives with a peacemaker face.
Bagheri Kani also warned Israel against any escalation in the region, in order to cover-up its failures in Gaza.
The Iraqi foreign minister, for his part, said that Baghdad supports a permanent ceasefire in Gaza but expressed concern about the opening of any new war front by the Israeli regime. “The security situation in the region remains volatile, and the entire region will be affected if Israel dares attack Lebanon.”
Earlier, Hussein sat down face-to-face with Bagheri Kani at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry and discussed a whole range of bilateral and regional issues.
While welcoming his guest, Hossein expressed his condolences over the martyrdom of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in a tragic copter crash.
The top Iraqi diplomat also expressed gratitude to the Iranian delegation for paying tribute to the Iraqi resistance martyrs, calling it a sign of the depth of the relations between the two countries.
Over the next two days, Bagheri Kani will discuss with Iraqi officials the ways to boost relations in all areas in light of strategic ties between the two neighbors.
The common interests of the two friendly and brotherly nations, dealing with security challenges and threats, the security of regional countries, and consultation on regional and international will be high on the agenda of talks between the Iranian and Iraqi officials.
