Spokesman Rejects Arab League’s Anti-Iran Claims

In comments on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi dismissed the anti-Iran allegations raised in a final statement of the Arab League summit, held in Jordan on Wednesday.

He also slammed as “futile and bogus” the accusations that Iran interferes in the internal affairs of the regional countries and the claims that question Iran’s sovereignty over the three Persian Gulf islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly announced that it does not basically feel any need to interfere in the internal affairs of the other countries, and that it is committed to good neighborliness, respect for the sovereignty of states, and non-intervention in the internal affairs of the other countries as the plain principles in accordance with the country’s Constitution and the international norms,” the spokesman underlined.

Qassemi then expressed “deep regret” about the move by leaders of certain Arab and Muslim nations to mistake friends for enemies, either unintentionally or deliberately.

Those Arab leaders are following the wrong path despite all previous experiences and lessons, he added, urging the Arab League to start dealing with the major problems in the region and the Islamic world and counter the common threats to all Muslim nations.

“It’s a pity that some (countries) change the realities and seek to replace the Zionist regime (of Israel) with Islamic Iran as a dummy and fabricated enemy,” the Iranian diplomat deplored.

He finally noted that Iran strongly condemns the attempts to change the facts about Iran’s sovereignty over the three islands in the Persian Gulf, stressing that repetition of such “lies and claims” could not alter the historical realities.