No Evidence of Death of Dutch Child in Erbil Attack: Iranian FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – There is no evidence for the claim that a Dutch child has died in a missile strike that Iran launched against the base of Mossad in Iraq’s Erbil on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.
In a telephone conversation with his Dutch counterpart on Friday evening, the Iranian foreign minister stated, “We do not have any evidence proving that a child was killed in the Mossad terrorist headquarters in northern Iraq, but we draw the attention of the Dutch government to the genocide and massacre of thousands of Palestinian women and children in Gaza.”
The Netherlands on Friday summoned the Iranian ambassador following the story about the death of a Dutch baby in an attack by Iran on Erbil.
Highlighting the long history of Iran’s relations with the Netherlands, Amirabdollahian called for joint efforts by the two countries to improve the bilateral, regional and international cooperation.
The Iranian foreign minister also underscored the need for the Netherlands to take appropriate and effective measures to combat terrorism.
“Some of the terrorist operations in Iran, which led to the martyrdom of innocent Iranian people, were plotted in and carried out from the espionage and terrorism headquarters based in Iraq’s Kurdistan,” he added, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
“Naturally, the Islamic Republic of Iran took the measure to effectively deal with terrorism and it was within the framework of international law and based on the legitimate defense,” Amirabdollahian added.
Pointing to the strategic ties between Tehran and Baghdad, Amirabdollahian stated that Iran respects Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity .
For her part, Hanke Bruins Slot hailed the Netherland’s historical relations with Iran.
She once again slammed the recent terrorist attack in Iran’s southern city of Kerman, expressed the Netherlands’ stance on Iran’s move to target terrorists in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, and called on both sides to show restraint.
The consular issues between the two countries were also discussed in the phone call.
The two ministers also stressed the need to continue their talks and mutual cooperation.