Iran: No sustainable security in region as long as Israeli entity exists

“Backed by the US, the Zionist regime is seeking to normalize its relations with some Muslim countries. Muslim governments and communities must stand against the path taken by the US and the Zionist regime and introduce the normalization of ties to the international community as a disagreeable act,” Qalibaf said in a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Tehran on Monday. He was referring to the Washington-mediated deals Israel reached with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in September. The following month, US President Donald Trump said Israel and Sudan had also established economic ties as a pathway toward normalized ties.Qalibaf warned, “There will be no suitable security in the region as long as the terrorist regime occupying Jerusalem al-Quds exists.”Elsewhere in his remarks, Iran’s top parliamentarian underlined the importance of unity in the Islamic Ummah, saying, “Reliance of Muslim countries on people, Islam and resistance against the enemies will be the key to their success.” He also highlighted the effective role played by top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in maintaining regional security. General Soleimani was assassinated by the US upon his arrival in Baghdad International Airport on January 3 at the invitation of the Iraqi government. He helped eliminate the US-sponsored Daesh terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Qalibaf called Syria the frontline of the resistance against the Zionist entity and stressed the Islamic Republic’s unwavering support for the resistance axis as well as the Syrian government and nation. Congratulating Syria on its recent victories against Takfiri terrorists, he said, “In parallel with the resistance of the Syrian government and nation in the war against the enemies, political talks within the framework of the Astana peace process can lead to sustainable stability and security in Syria and the region.” He further called for the expansion Iran’s brotherly ties with Syria in political, economic, cultural and parliamentary fields. Iran began providing Syria with advisory military assistance after numerous countries — at the head of them the US and its Western and regional allies — started funding and arming terrorists with the aim of deposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Despite initially losing considerable expanses of territory to Daesh and other terror outfits, the country regained its strength with the help of Iran and Russia, another Damascus’ ally, and managed to reverse the balance in favor of itself on the battleground. Mekdad, for his part, said the assassination of General Soleimani and senior Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh once again revealed the true faces of Washington and Tel Aviv as supporters of terrorism. Fakhrizadeh, Iran’s deputy defense minister and head of the ministry’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), was assassinated near Tehran on November 27 by terrorists with suspected links to Israel. The top Syrian diplomat emphasized that his country will never forget Iran’s material and spiritual assistance in the fight against Syria’s enemies. He also referred to the election of Joe Biden as the new US president, saying US governments are no different in nature, and that the American presence in different parts of the world has always contributed to the spread of insecurity and instability. US presidents agree on protecting the interests of the Zionist regime, an issue that is more important to them than the interests of European countries, Mekdad noted. The Syrian foreign minister arrived in the Iranian capital on his first foreign visit late Sunday. He assumed the position last month after his predecessor Walid al-Muallem passed away. Mekdad met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Akbar Velayati, senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. ‘World will be safer without Israel’ On Tuesday, Mekdad held talks with Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani on bilateral, regional and international issues. During the meeting, Shamkhani said the US presence in Syria is meant to plunder the Arab country’s oil, maintain Israel’s security and strengthen Daesh, adding, “America’s evil presence in the region must end.” Israel relies on human rights violations and terror for its existence, thus the international community must stand firm against the actions of “this bloodthirsty regime,” he said. “Undoubtedly, the world will be safer without the Zionist regime,” he said. “Those government officials that are seeking, with humiliation, to normalize relations with the fake Zionist regime and are helping to implement the US schemes in the region will not have a better fate than those of [ousted Libyan and Sudanese leaders Muammar] Gaddafi and Omar al-Bashir,” Shamkhani said. The Islamic Republic, he added, will never leave the Syrian government and nation alone in their fight against aggression and terrorism. Source: Press TV