The Majlis speaker held a meeting with Catholicos Aram I, leader of Catholicossate of the Great House of Cilicia in Lebanon, in Tehran late on Saturday.
Ali Larijani praised the positive role the Armenian community played in Iran in years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) and said, "The Armenian community of Iran is highly respected and enjoys very cordial and friendly relations with majority Muslims in the country," ISNA reported. Referring to the recent regional developments, he said, "Terrorist groups have caused great problems for the followers of the divine religions and show no mercy to them."
Larijani described terrorism as a fire threatening all the nations and the followers of the divine religions and said, "The tactical confrontation of world powers with the evil phenomenon of terrorism has led to its reinforcement." He continued that the US-led coalition formed to fight terrorism is not sufficiently effective, adding some members of the coalition are simultaneously cooperating with terrorists, a fact which indicates they do not have the required sincerity in their battle against terrorists.
He said the current situation in the region poses a threat to the security, development, and peace of all the regional states and serves the interests of the Zionist regime. Catholicos Aram I, for his part, praised Iran for its support for the Armenians and said, "The Iranian Armenians enjoy great freedoms and have longstanding, close and friendly relations with the majority Muslim Iranians."
He referred to Iran's role in combating terrorism in the region, particularly in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, and said all countries acknowledge the "significant" and "constructive" role of Iran in the anti-terror campaign.
In addition, he denounced the countries which play a role in reinforcing terrorist groups in the region.
