The chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has called for increased cooperation between Iran and Kuwait.
In a meeting with members of the Kuwait-Iran Friendship Association in Tehran on Sunday, Boroujerdi pointed to a “history of positive relations” between the two countries and said efforts should be made to help strengthen economic, social, cultural and parliamentary ties.
He also said Iran is keen to expand defense cooperation with neighboring countries, ICANA reported.
WMD-Free Mideast
Elsewhere, he pointed to concerns voiced about Tehran’s nuclear program and said Iran’s nuclear activities are “transparent” and are in compliance with international regulations, including the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
“We believe in a world free from nuclear weapons and have been the initiator of the proposal for a Middle East free from weapons (of mass destruction),” he said.
The Middle East nuclear weapon free zone (MENWFZ) is a proposed agreement similar to other nuclear weapons-free zones in other regions. Steps toward the establishment of such a zone which began in the 1960s led to a joint declaration by Egypt and Iran in 1974 which resulted in a UN General Assembly resolution and was broadened in 1990 to cover weapons of mass destruction.
On the issue of terrorism, Boroujerdi said “takfiri groups, such as Daesh (the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria)” pose a serious threat to the region. “Daesh is an evil phenomenon which has raised skepticism about the Muslim world, so the Muslin world should endeavor to deal with this phenomenon.”
A takfiri is a Muslim who accuses another Muslim of being an unbeliever.
The lawmaker went on to say that attempts to “tarnish the image of Islam” are futile, adding, “Today, the Islamic Ummah has gone beyond ethnic and religious boundaries, and attempts to provoke divisions are vain and are only meant to create a commotion, so they should be foiled through increased cooperation and reliance on similarities and common interests.”
Members of the Kuwait-Iran Friendship Association, for their part, said there is enormous potential in the two countries and expressed hope that bilateral relations would improve.
