Middle East

Arab World Facing Serious Challenge, But Not From Iran: Zarif

Certain Arab countries in the Middle East are trying to divert attention from the inherent challenges in their systems and seek to misrepresent Iran as a source of threat, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.

In comments at a cultural ceremony in Tehran on Saturday, Zarif said the regional Arab states’ inability to meet public demands has created tense situation, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

The Arab world’s intelligentsia and the grass roots feel a sense of frustration after developments in recent years and the lack of proper reaction by their rulers, Zarif explained, saying the governments are trying to whitewash their inability by steering the public hatred towards sectarian and ethnic rift.

“Today, they (Arab states) are faced with a critical challenge, which is of course not from Iran,” he added.

Zarif then underlined that Iran has behaved with dignity over the past three decades, which is a quality of greatness, noting that the harsh behavior and indecent remarks by the Saudi rulers is a sign of weakness.

The top Iranian diplomat finally added that ill-wishers of Iran are entangled in a “strategic failure.”

Tensions in the ties between Tehran and Riyadh started to escalate after Saudi Arabia on January 2 executed prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, among dozens of others. The execution ignited widespread international condemnation, from both political and religious figures.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

Three infants freeze to death in Gaza amid Israeli blockade

Three Palestinian babies have died from hypothermia in the Gaza Strip over the recent days,…

2 hours ago

Israeli killing of Gaza journalists ‘war crime’: Iran

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baqaei has strongly condemned an Israeli air attack on Gaza…

5 hours ago

Syria’s new rulers say 14 policemen killed in ambush by forces loyal to ex-gov’t

Members of the Syrian police have been killed in an “ambush” by forces loyal to…

6 hours ago

IRGC says Yemeni strikes changed Israel’s calculations

A spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has stated that the aerial attacks…

6 hours ago

EU members skeptical about sending peacekeepers to Ukraine: RFE/RL

It is not likely that EU member states will send peacekeepers to Ukraine, especially without…

6 hours ago

Biden directs Pentagon to ‘continue its surge’ of arms deliveries to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden has directed the Pentagon to "continue its surge" of weapons and…

7 hours ago