Ambassador to Lebanon says terrorism is among the most significant threats to the Middle East region and that Iran has already played a significant role to help deal with "a dangerous situation."
Mohammad Fathali said the most significant challenge to the Islamic world is the threat of Daesh (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and its quest to "create schism among Muslims," IRNA reported.
He said Israel is the first beneficiary of such schism, adding, "Daesh not only poses a threat to Islam and Muslims but a threat to the entire world."
Iran is watching regional developments very closely and that the country has played a "decisive" and "active" role in foiling plots, he underlined.
The diplomat noted that the Middle East region is going through "historical changes" and advised states in the region to remain "vigilant and conscious to deal with the dangerous situation."
His remarks were published in the Monday issue of the Arabic-language al-Akhbar daily.
The ambassador touched on Iran's part in the campaign against IS terrorists in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and said Tehran's role is limited to "advisory" support "to help eradicate terrorism and defuse plots."
"Iran is confident that the affected countries can coordinate and cooperate with each other to achieve victory over terrorism, without the need for foreign interference, the US-led coalition," Fathali stated.
The envoy described the recent visit of Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani to three regional countries, namely Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, as a gesture to stress Iran's support for anti-terrorism efforts. He said from the very beginning of the crisis in Syria, Tehran has repeatedly warned that overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not a solution because it would "open the door to terrorist organizations."
"We gave warnings that any attempt to topple Assad means helping terrorists, and it turned out that the Islamic Republic was right."
He lamented that some states "turned a deaf ear to those warnings and invested a lot of time and resources to bolster terror groups in a bid to ouster the Syrian president without understanding the risks of their policies."
In response to a question about Iran's military assistance to Lebanon which is yet to be approved by the Beirut government, he said, "Iran supports all countries in the region against terrorism."
"Iran will continue to provide assistance and support to the Lebanese army and that Lebanon will not remain alone in the face of threats from Israel and terrorists in the Middle East."
