A foreign ministry official says the campaign of “supporters of terrorism” against terrorists in the region is not real. Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a meeting with Cypriot Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandros N. Zenon in Tehran on Tuesday in reference to a US-led coalition against militants of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, which includes some regional countries. The two officials discussed bilateral relations and the latest developments in the region, the Mehr news agency reported.
“Sponsors of terrorists use military shows and airstrikes as a tool to address their internal problems and they are not willing to really fight terrorists,” the deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs said.Amir-Abdollahian referred to the “unchanging” and “transparent” stance of Iran toward the crisis in Syria and rejected a military solution to the problem. He added that governments cannot be toppled by terrorism and the people in the region are the only authority to decide their future. The Cypriot deputy foreign minister, for his part, referred to his country’s concern about the escalation of extremism and terrorism in the region and stressed the need to really combat the “dangerous phenomenon”.
Zenon touched on the “positive” and “effective” role of Iran in addressing the regional issues and described consultations with Iran in related subjects as important. He called for continuous talks to be held between the two countries’ officials.
