In a Wednesday statement, Qassemi rejected several unfounded accusations levelled against Tehran in the Arab Quartet’s statement and condemned the anti-Iran measures and moves of the committee.
He said the statement issued on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the US, carried out by elements from Arab countries, is a blame-game and fruitless effort to divert the attention of the world’s public opinion away from the US’ warmongering and years-long support for terrorism and terrorist groups.
The spokesman went on to say that the committee members have issued the statement at a time when their destructive war on Yemen has resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
“The war has not only destroyed basic infrastructure in Yemen but also left millions of innocent people starving, ill and impoverished,” he said.
Under such circumstances, he said, the aggressors, indifferent to their crimes and amid the silence of international groups and bodies, are insisting on their catastrophic mistakes and expanding the extent of this unprecedented crime by the virtue of the support provided by certain extra-regional states.
Qassemi said Tehran has always huge importance to the security and stability of its neighbours, and adopted a policy based on mutual trust and respect, seeking a stable environment along its borders.
The spokesman noted Iran has never put meddling in the internal affairs of other states on its agenda and unlike the claims raised in the statement, the Islamic Republic has stood by the regional states at their request amid terrible situation.
“We maintain that the accusations levelled and the claims raised in the statement are mainly built on unfounded and unrealistic Iranophobic illusions and policies dictated by others on the Arab states,” he said.
He finally advised the Arab League members to abandon such “doomed tactics and approaches” and give constructive responses to the attempts made and initiatives put forward by the Islamic Republic to hold regional dialogue and cooperation.
Earlier, the Arab Quartet Committee, composed of the foreign ministers of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, as well as the secretary general of the Arab League, condemned what it called “Iran’s attempt to arm and train elements to undermine the security and stability of Morocco.”
It went on claim that the move is “part of Tehran’s plan to disrupt security and stability in the region.”
The move comes to please martyrs’ mothers and safeguard the historic value of the martyrs’ section at Behestht-e-Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran.
“Over this period, we saw a large number of the martyrs’ old tombstones had gone black. Moreover, we listened to the concerns of martyrs’ families. Maybe we don’t care about it that much, but the tarnish on the gravestones make a martyr’s mother sad and she tells herself what she’s supposed to do now. So, we decided to do something. My friends and I formed a group. One of them was a martyr’s child, one was a defender of holy shrines, another a war veteran and …,” said Ayat.
“Moreover, the martyrs’ section is like a document … There are a series of words and expressions on the tombstones whose omission will look as if part of history is omitted, things like bombardment of cities, chemical attacks, SAVAK (the intelligence service of the former Pahlavi regime of Iran), torture, movement, Imam, revolution, Saddam, enemy, hegemony and …,” he said.
