Iran, UN Stress Political Solution to Crisis in Syria
Iran and the United Nations have underscored the importance of opting for a political solution to the crisis in Syria.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with the visiting UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan Domingo de Mistura, in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The UN envoy has embarked on a series of trips aimed at holding consultations with regional countries on ways to solve the crisis in Syria.
During the talks, Amir-Abdollahian referred to Iran’s transparent position of supporting the Syrian government and nation, saying, “Today, all parties know well that the solution to Syria’s crisis is exclusively political.”
“Even those arming the opponents of the Syrian establishment are after scoring political points,” added the Iranian official.
Amir-Abdollahian thanked the UN envoy for his efforts aimed at finding a political solution in Syria. He said Tehran considers reforms to be necessary, but opposes any idea which is meant to disturb the situation in the country.
The Islamic Republic believes that any change has to take place through democratic channels inside Syria and at the hands of Syrians, he added.
De Mistura likewise considered the military solution to be futile and emphasized the need for serious measures aimed at settling the crisis in Syria through the political action.
Saudi military campaign against Yemen
eparately, Amir-Abdollahian met with the Chinese ambassador to Yemen, Tian Qi, and his accompanying delegation in Tehran to discuss the ongoing Saudi air raids against neighboring Yemen.
Amir-Abdollahian said the indiscriminate bombardments against Yemen have only led to the escalation of extremism and acts of violence by terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL in the Arabian Peninsula country.
He pointed to Iran’s four-point peace initiative on the situation in Yemen, reaffirming the Islamic Republic’s stance on the need for a political solution to the crisis in the country.
The proposal, put forward by Iran in April, includes hammering out a ceasefire, sending humanitarian assistance to the people affected by violence, launching an intra-Yemeni dialog, and establishing a broad-based government participated by all Yemeni factions,
The Chinese diplomat, in turn, said Tehran and Beijing see eye to eye on many issues in the Middle East region, adding that the two sides seek an immediate ceasefire in the Arab country and emphasize the necessity for a political settlement of the crisis there.
Saudi aggression against Yemen strategic mistake, says Boroujerdi
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian lawmaker has censuredthe Riyadh regime’s ongoing aggression against Yemen as a “strategic mistake,” criticizing the West for remaining tight-lipped in the face of Saudi crimes.
Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) Alaeddin Boroujerdi made the remarks on Wednesday in a meeting with Anders Christian Hougaard, the Danish ambassador to Tehran.
“Saudi Arabia has made a big strategic mistake by attacking Yemen,” Boroujerdi said, adding the US and certain Western states are in fact repeating their past mistakes by supporting the Al Saud regime’s onslaught against Yemen.
The Iranian parliamentarian further described as “regrettable” the West’s silence on Saudi Arabia’s massacre of Yemeni people, including defenseless women and children.
The Danish diplomat, for his part, expressed concern about the current situation in the Middle East, saying, terrorism is the major threat to the world.
Hougaard also underlined the need for collective cooperation to contain the terrorism threat, emphasizing that his country will continue to send humanitarian aid to Yemen.
The two sides also exchanged views on ways to broaden bilateral cooperation in various areas.
Saudi Arabia launched its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and to restore power to the country’s fugitive former president Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
According to a recent UN report, at least 1,670 civilians have been killed and another 3,829 people injured since the beginning of the Saudi military campaign.
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