Iran Pledges Support for Afghan Refugees

In a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, held in Tehran on Thursday, President Raisi described the assistance to Afghan refugees by Iran as a humanitarian and Islamic duty, saying, "We support Afghan refugees whether they want to stay in Iran or pass through Iran."

Regarding the migration of Afghans to European countries, the Iranian president said, "There are about four million Afghan refugees in Iran and they are welcomed. Western countries made many promises to help Afghan refugees but did not help them."

"The fruit of two decades of NATO and US presence in Afghanistan is murder, crime, bloodshed and helplessness of the Afghan people. More than 30,000 Afghan children have been disabled as a result of the American presence in Afghanistan," he deplored.

The president then emphasized the need for the governance of Afghanistan by the Afghan people, noting, "Afghanistan must be governed by an independent government."

He further expressed hope that the Western countries would follow the Christian teachings instead of only claiming to be Christians, the president’s official website reported.

On the relations between Iran and Hungary, Raisi said the two countries “have great potential for developing relations and increasing economic exchanges."

Highlighting the importance of formation of a joint commission between the two countries to develop economic and political interactions, the president said, "Relations between Iran and Hungary are not acceptable and we can bring the level of relations to an acceptable point through bilateral cooperation."

President Raisi described the relations between Eastern European countries and Iran as historical and important, and said, "If Eastern European countries act independently, they will benefit both politically and economically."

He further described the cooperation between Iran and Hungary in the fight against terrorism, narcotics and organized crimes as effective for the security of the region and the world, and said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran fights terrorism in practice, but some only claim to be fighting terrorism."

Deploring the double standards of the West in dealing with issues, the president said, "The double standards of the West damage the trust of the people and we hope that while we are approaching the birthday of Jesus Christ, some Western countries follow Christian teachings instead of only claiming to be Christians."

For his part, the Hungarian foreign minister said, "We believe that the West and NATO have acted hypocritically on the issue of Afghanistan, and now we are concerned about the huge influx of Afghan refugees."

Referring to his meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Szijjarto said, "According to the memorandum between Iran and Hungary, vaccines produced by the two countries will be accepted and from tomorrow, Hungarians and Iranians can travel to each other's countries after being vaccinated in their own countries."

He finally expressed satisfaction with the attention that Iran pays to trade and economic relations, and said, "We are working to improve the level of relations between Tehran and Budapest."