Iran shares brotherly ties with many Arab League members: FM spox

TEHRAN– Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said Sun. the Islamic Republic has brotherly relations with a large number of the Arab League members, stressing that Tehran closely monitors all developments of the Arab League.

Responding to a final statement by Arab League summit of leaders in Tunisia, Ghasemi said Iran closely monitored the meeting to the keep abreast of the Arab League’s developments, noting that “we and many member states of this union live in a sensitive region of the world and share common borders.”

“We have brotherly relations with many of the Arab League members and share common concerns and interests of the Islamic World,” he added, according to the Mehr News Agency.

The official noted that apart from the speeches by some members of the League, which, unfortunately, still showed an unconstructive and misguided approach of hostility toward Iran, the Islamic Republic considers the atmosphere of the recent summit as positive compared with its previous meetings.

Ghasemi stressed that this was due to the wise and constructive hosting and management of the Tunisian officials during the summit.

The official further criticized parts of the final statement of the Arab League summit, which claimed Iran was interfering in the internal affairs of the Arab nations. He also condemned claims in the statement which expressed doubts about Iran’s sovereignty on the three islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb, located in the Persian Gulf.

“We strongly reject and condemn wrong and baseless claims on our country’s interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries as well as claims on Iran’s three islands,” said the Iranian official, adding that Iran’s permanent policy was to refrain from meddling in the internal affairs of its neighbors.

Iran has repeatedly rejected claims by the United Arab Emirates about the three Iranian islands, saying that they are “inseparable” part of Iran.

Ghasemi also welcomed the party of the statement by Arab League endorsing Syria’s sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

He referred to the Arab League’s move to support Syria’s territorial integrity on the occupied Golan Heights, saying the move was a “positive and promising” step in the face of efforts by the United States to legitimize Israel’s occupation of the area.

He added that the Islamic Republic strongly believes the Muslim world should continue to prioritize the issue of the occupation of the Arab-Muslim lands by the illegitimate Israeli regime.

The comments come amid an international uproar about US President Donald Trump’s provocative decision to recognize “Israeli sovereignty” over Syria’s Golan Heights. In 1967, Israel waged a full-scale war against Arab territories, during which it occupied some two-thirds of Syria’s Golan Heights and annexed the region four years later, a move never recognized by the international community.

M.Wassouf