28 Mar 2024
Monday 11 January 2016 - 16:40
Story Code : 196353

Iranian MPs condemn S. Arabia's hostile policies

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian legislators in a statement condemned the Saudi rulers for adopting an aggressive approach towards Tehran, and called on the foreign ministry to pursue the issue through international bodies.

"In the statement, the parliamentarians condemned execution of Ayatollah Nimr Baqir al-Nimr (the prominent Saudi Shiite cleric) innocently as well as the pressure Saudi Arabia exerts on its nation and other Islamic countries, and urged the foreign ministry to file complaint (at international bodies) against Saudi Arabia's incorrect policies as an undiplomatic move," member of the parliament's Training and Research Commission Abbas Moqtadayee told FNA on Monday.

"The lawmakers also called on the foreign ministry to seriously pursue the military aggression against the Islamic Republic's embassy in Yemen and, meantime, urged the interior ministry to legally pursue the issue of the raid on the Saudi embassy in Tehran which was against the Islamic Republic's interests," he added.

Saudi Arabia has been pursuing a crisis-escalation policy against Iran during the last week.

The country cut relations with Iran after protestors angry at Sheikh Nimr's execution stormed the country's embassy in Tehran on January 2 despite the Iranian officials' detention of 40 people in relations with embassy attack and their promise to pursue the issue.

Also, the Saudi warplanes launched airstrikes on Iran's embassy in the Yemeni capital on Wednesday night which injured the mission's guards.

The Saudi media outlets said on Friday that the country plans to try four Iranians on espionage and terrorism charges, a move that is widely seen as yet another part of the crisis-escalation policy pursued by Riyadh against Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in separate letters to the UN and OIC chiefs as well as a number of his counterparts on Saturday expressed concern that certain officials in Saudi Arabia are creating crisis in the region, noting that Riyadh should make a crucial choice.

Zarif sent separate letters to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani and the foreign ministers of a number of UN member states.

In his letters, he referred to the unfortunate developments between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent days, and said there were indications that some in Saudi Arabia are on a mission to drag the entire region to conflict; fearing that removal of the smokescreen of the manufactured Iranian nuclear threat would expose the real global threat posed by extremists and their sponsors.

The Iranian Foreign Minister recalled those involved in extremist carnage and most members of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIL and al-Nusra Front being either Saudi nationals, or otherwise brainwashed by petro-financed demagogues, who have promoted an anti-Islamic message of hatred, exclusion and sectarianism across the globe for decades.

Zarif named a number of instances where Saudi Arabia has been engaged in direct provocation against Iran, including military attack against Iranian diplomatic facilities in Yemen and by Saudi-backed terrorists elsewhere, persistent mistreatment of Iranian pilgrims, official sermons in which hate speech against Iran and all Shiite Muslims has become a routine practice, the provocative and unjustifiable beheading of leading Shiite scholars and finally instigating an economic warfare against Iran.

In all these cases, the Iranian Foreign Minister underlined that the Islamic Republic of Iran, confident of the strength of its cause, conviction and people, refused to retaliate or break or even reduce diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.

"Iran has called for Islamic unity in the face of Saudi sectarian hate mongering. And while Saudi Government or its agents directly targeted Iranian diplomatic facilities, killing Iranian diplomats and other nationals, the Iranian Government has unequivocally condemned the assault against Saudi Embassy and Consulate on January 2, 2016, ensured the safety and dignity of all Saudi diplomats, took immediate measures to help restore Saudi diplomatic compound, declared at the highest level its determination to bring all perpetrators to justice, took disciplinary action against those failing to perform their duties to protect diplomatic compounds and initiated an internal investigation to determine the causes and prevent any recurrence," he added.

Zarif reiterated that the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully committed to comply with all its obligations in accordance with international law and relevant international instruments, specially the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963.

"We have no desire or interest in escalation of tension in our neighborhood. We all need to be united in the face of continued threats posed by extremists against all of us. In fact, from the first days after his election, President Rouhani and I have sent public and private signals to Saudi Arabia about our readiness to engage in dialogue and accommodation to promote regional stability and combat destabilizing extremist violence. Saudi Arabia has to make a crucial choice. It can either continue supporting extremist terrorists and promoting sectarian hatred, or it can opt for good neighborliness and play a constructive role in promoting regional stability. We hope Saudi Arabia will be persuaded to head the call of reason," the Iranian top diplomat underlined.

By Fars News Agency
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