Spain Lauds Iran’s Key Regional Role
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Spanish foreign minister highlighted the significant role Iran plays in the Middle East region, voicing Madrid’s readiness to coordinate efforts with Iran to settle crises in Syria and Iraq.
In a Friday meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in New York, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo expressed the European country’s preparedness to contribute to the resolution of conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
Madrid is ready to hold political consultations with the regional countries, including Iran, to help tackle the woes in those Arab states, he noted.
Zarif, for his part, criticized the West for its double standard policies towards counterterrorism, and said, “The US and West will be unable to resolve the issue of terrorism by continuing to pursue their past policies.”
He also pointed to Washington’s failure to take any “effective measure” in tackling the threat of terrorism in Iraq.
“During four months of savage activities by the ISIL in Iraq, the Americans took no effective measure, namely cutting off direct and indirect aid to them (terrorists), in order to counter them,” the Iranian diplomat added.
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is a militant group in Iraq and Syria believed to be supported by the West and some regional Arab countries.
The terrorist group claims as an independent state the territory of Iraq and Syria, with implied future claims intended over more of the Levant, including Lebanon, occupied Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, and Southern Turkey.
On September 12, US President Barack Obama said the United States is assembling an international coalition to “snuff out” the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group.
Iranian officials have criticized Washington’s bid to build global support for military action against the ISIL as absurd and hypocritical.