Zarif: No Shiite-Sunni Strife in Region
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian foreign minister said there is no Shiite-Sunni sectarian war in the region and the ongoing tensions emanate from a conspiracy by the outsiders to undermine the authority of the Islamic world.
“What is happening (in the region) is not a Shiite-Sunni war, but a foreign plot with the aim of preventing the mighty emergence of the Islamic world in the arena of the regional and international developments,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a meeting with Sudanese Minister of Human Resources, Development and Labor Ishraqa Sayeed Mahmoud in Tehran on Monday.
The Iranian diplomat also called on the “influential Islamic countries” to exercise vigilance and take a “strategic view” towards the regional upheavals in order to thwart the divisive plots hatched by the enemies of Islam.
In relevant comments on Sunday, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei made clear that ongoing turmoil in Iraq, unlike what Americans say, is by no means a Shiite-Sunni sectarian war.
“What has taken place in Iraq is not a Shiite-Sunni war, but an attempt by the hegemonic powers to destabilize Iraq and threaten the country’s territorial integrity by using the remnants of Saddam regime as the main players and the bigoted Takfiri elements as infantry,” said Imam Khamenei.
In early June, following its large-scale offensives in Iraq, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized control of most parts of Mosul, the second most populous city in Iraq and its surrounding Nineveh province.
The terrorists’ attacks have reportedly forced more than half a million people in Nineveh Province to flee their homes.
Following Iraqi top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s religious decree (Fatwa) which called on Iraqis to take up arms against terrorists, nearly 1.5 million Iraqis have volunteered to join battles against the al-Qaeda-linked militants. The volunteers consist of people from all walks of life including retired officers.