Iran must reverse interference policies

Manama, Dec.11 (BNA): Iran should start respecting the sovereignty of the other countries to keep the stability and security mechanism of the entire region intact. No stability in the Middle East can be guaranteed without a total change in behaviour by Iran, said Ahmed Aboul Gheit Secretary General of the Arab League. The Iranian approach, he said, to defend or protect the Shias living in other countries will not work as this approach is basically creating problems, he said. “The protection of the rights of the minorities is the basic duty of the respective states by making sure minorities are not marginalized. This job cannot be done by other countries as this amounts to a direct interference in the internal affairs of others,” Aboul Gheit said during the last plenary session of the 12 Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Sunday. He warned the countries who have been pursuing the policy of interference in internal affairs of others saying that “borders are sacred” and everyone has to respect the borders. The ideas of new security architecture in the Middle East, which have been touted by many Western thin tanks, will mean the creation of new countries within a country, the Arab League Chief said. “It would trigger an unending war in the region.” Iran must refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Similarly, the occupation of the UAE islands by Iran is a major irritant and a destabilising factor in this region. “If you try to play with borders and you'll have continual wars and also new Middle East security architecture is premature as Arab world is in position of relatively weak on many fronts, he added. He advises Kurds to live within Arab, Turk, Persian nation states and ask for rights from within while emphasising on the point that borders are sacred. “The Kurds situation is very complex as they have more than three factions and have been living in very delicate geographic and political conditions and the policy of status quo and co-existence is seen as the only solution.” He said that the current balance of power was unprecedently unbalanced and not in Arab states favour. “I have reservations and questions about a new regional security body as power in the Middle East is unbalanced. We Arabs have our disagreements - time is not right for negotiating new regional body, but we should think about it for future. We cannot be sure what path Trump will follow in the Middle East. It may take a year or more if the US President-elect wants to reverse Obama’s policies in the Middle East which are generally regarded as of US disengagement,” Aboul Gheit said.