Iran Spokesman Raps NATO Chief’s Comments

In a statement on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi strongly condemned the recent comments made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in justification of the US assassination of Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani, saying the remarks have been made in disregard of the principles of international law.

“The performance of this military organization (NATO), whose influential member is a terrorist state on a global scale, namely the US regime, has resulted in no achievement in recent years but devastation, wars, and insecurity for the people of the region and the world,” Mousavi noted.

“Justifying the US regime’s measure in the unfair assassination of General Soleimani is shutting eyes to the role of this great commander in the decisive and crucial fight against terrorists and destruction of Daesh (ISIS) and eliminating the threat of that savage terrorist group from the region and the areas beyond, as far as the European borders,” the Iranian spokesperson added.

Mousavi also noted that the NATO Secretary General has mocked the world public opinion by justifying the terrorist and thoughtless measure from the NATO’s biggest member before the shocked and worried eyes of the world to assassinate a high-ranking Iranian military official who has been invited by Iraq’s legitimate government.

The Iranian spokesperson finally expressed regret that the NATO has become a tool for justifying the measures by the United States and a number of its European allies to achieve their ominous political objectives in the region.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that security will return to the region when the terrorist activities of the extra-regional forces, some of whom are active under the flag of NATO, would end and providing regional security would be entrusted to the regional governments.”