Anti-Terror Fight Key to Solving Mideast Crises

A senior Iranian diplomat said the ongoing crises in the Middle East can only be solved through an effective and all-out campaign against terrorism and extremism.

“It is not possible to settle the ongoing crises in the region without an effective fight against extremism and terrorism,” Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari said after a meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut on Friday, Press TV reported.

He said conflicts must also be resolved politically through negotiations.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has a clear standpoint in this regard and believes that these two issues must be pursued in parallel,” he said.

He noted that Lebanon has been a role model for all nations in the region over the past few decades in two areas.

“Resistance against foreign occupation and expansionism of Zionist regime [of Israel] and coexistence among people of various ethnicities and faiths as well as political and social groups are two very important ideals,” he said.

Jaberi Ansari hoped that regional governments and states would see better days in the future and their differences would be solved through understanding and dialogue.

The Iranian diplomat also on Friday met the secretary-general of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the latest political developments in the region, particularly in Lebanon.

Hezbollah fighters defended Lebanon against Israel during the 33-day war in 2006 and Tel Aviv was forced to withdraw its troops without achieving any of its objectives. It has also been successfully helping the Syrian Army fight militants to prevent the Syrian conflict from spilling over to Lebanon.

  Presidential Message

In a meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun in Beirut on the same day, the deputy foreign minister conveyed President Hassan Rouhani’s message.

In the message, the Iranian president stressed the importance of developing mutual relations in all fields, particularly after the election of Aoun as Lebanese president.

It added that Aoun’s election carried the message of understanding and cooperation for all Lebanese forces based on wisdom and prudence.

On October 31, Lebanese legislators elected Aoun as president, ending a 29-month presidential vacuum. The Maronite Christian founder of the Free Patriotic Movement succeeded Michel Sleiman.

On Sunday, Lebanon announced forming a new 30-minister Cabinet led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The government brought together the country’s whole political spectrum, except for the Christian Phalangist party, which did not accept the portfolio it had been offered.

Ansari reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s support for the Lebanese leaders’ approach of settling the country’s political differences through dialogue and national agreement, calling for such a policy to be adopted by all regional countries to resolve discords.

The Lebanese president hailed Rouhani’s attempts to strengthen mutual relations and said the Islamic Republic plays a positive role in regional developments.

Aoun added that the recent meeting among Iranian, Russian and Turkish foreign ministers in Moscow was an important step to settle regional crises, particularly the Syrian issue.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Turkish counterparts, Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu respectively, held a meeting in Moscow on Tuesday and discussed the latest developments in Syria, particularly those concerning the newly liberated strategic city of Aleppo.

Ansari arrived in Lebanon after he wrapped up a visit to Syria, where he met separately with President Bashar al-Assad, Prime Minister Imad Khamis and Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem.