A senior security official said the discriminatory approach adopted by some international players in the campaign against terrorism is the biggest challenge to the eradication of the scourge.
“The biggest blight on the fight against terrorism is a selective approach to this ominous phenomenon by some countries supporting the takfiri ideology,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said in a meeting with New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully in Tehran on Saturday, Press TV reported.
Pointing to New Zealand’s membership in the UN Security Council and the so-called international coalition against the self-styled Islamic State militant group, he said extremism and terrorism currently pose the biggest security threat to the world.
Shamkhani highlighted the common positions of Iran and New Zealand on nuclear disarmament, anti-narcotics campaign and climate change.
“There are appropriate grounds for development of cooperation in trade, politics and economics, whose activation can lead to promotion of bilateral ties,” he said.
The top New Zealand diplomat hailed Iran as a powerful country that can influence political, security and economic equations in the region.
McCully said his country seeks enhanced trade and political ties with Iran.
