Iran expressed reservations about certain articles of the documents adopted at a recent emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Beit-ul-Moqaddam, which somehow imply recognition of the occupying Israeli regime. On Wednesday, the 57-member Muslim body held an emergency summit in Istanbul to coordinate a response to a decision by the US on Dec. 6 to recognize Quds as the "capital" of Israel. In its final communiqué, the OIC declared that it would recognize "East Jerusalem [Quds] as the capital of the State of Palestine and invite all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital". The reference to Jerusalem, instead of the original Palestinian name of Quds, implies a tacit recognition of the occupying Israeli regime. The main summit was preceded by a meeting of OIC foreign ministers, during which the participants adopted a declaration dubbed "Freedom for al-Quds." President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attended the event. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi reiterated Iran's support for the "inalienable rights of the Palestinian people", Press TV reported. However, he said, Tehran's backing for the two documents adopted at the Istanbul summit "does not at all amount to the recognition of the occupying and fake regime of Israel by the Islamic Republic".
