France Raps Kerman Terror Attack, Asks Iran to Help Ease Regional Tensions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The foreign minister of France condemned a recent deadly terrorist attack in Iran’s Kerman, voiced concern about the escalation of regional tensions, and called on Tehran to play a role in preventing the spread of conflicts.
In a telephone conversation with her Iranian counterpart on Saturday, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna condemned the January 3 terrorist attack that killed over 90 people in Iran’s southern city of Kerman.
Expressing concern about the escalating tensions in the region, Colonna called on Iran to help prevent the spillover of the hostilities.
For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian stressed the need for the efforts by the international community to effectively and practically fight against all forms of terrorism.
Pointing to the crisis in Gaza, the Iranian foreign minister said the effective steps toward ending violence in the region should include the cessation of Israeli crimes and genocidal attacks in Gaza, the necessity of practical efforts to end the massacre of civilians, the facilitation of sending humanitarian aid to Gazans, prevention of forced displacement of Palestinians, and the handover of the future of Palestine in a democratic way to Palestinians themselves.
The only way to prevent the spillover of fighting across the region and to establish lasting peace is addressing, responsibly, the root causes of the challenges and also being seriously determined to help solve the problems, he added, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
Deploring the massacre of 22,000 civilians, including women and children, in Gaza, the Iranian foreign minister said the US and the Israeli regime are responsible for the genocide in the enclave.
"You can't ignore the root cause of instability in the region without looking at the occupation and let the Israeli regime do whatever it desires and at the same time be worried about the security of the Red Sea and the wider region,” he added.
Amirabdollahian noted that Iran is the most sincere defender of security and stability in the region and the entire world.
In the phone call, the two senior diplomats agreed on the importance of continued diplomatic dialogue and contacts between Iran and France. They also underscored the need to remove obstacles to bilateral relations in an atmosphere of mutual respect.