Iran’s Role In Maintaining Peace In Mideast Canˈt Be Ignored: Scholar

Islamabad, Jan 25, IRNA – A prominent Pakistani religious scholar on Friday said that Iran is an important country of the world and peace cannot be restored in Syria without the Islamic Republic's help. Talking to IRNA, patron in chief of Imam Khomeini Trust (IKT) Allama Syed Iftikhar Hussain Naqvi said that the international conference on Syria in Swiss town of Montreux, known as Geneva-2 will be unable to find a permanent solution to the crisis in the Arab country without Iran’s participation. Managing Director of ‘Such TV’ expressed view that the decision of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for dis-inviting Iran from the conference was an irreparable mistake. “Ban Ki-moon took the decision under the American pressure,” he said. Talking about Iran’s role on Syria, the scholar said that Tehran holds a key position in the region and plays a crucial role in maintaining peace in the Middle East. He asked the international community to accept Iran’s role in the region adding that the Geneva-2 conference will be unable to resolve the Syrian crisis without Iran's participation. He questioned, if US and the Arab states are invited to attend the conference then why Iran cannot participate in the talks. Iftikhar Hussain Naqvi said that the US was insisting that Iran should accept the decisions taken in Geneva-1 conference on Syria as preconditions to participation in Geneva-2 conference. The scholar said how could the US and its Arab allies that have been supporting the terrorists in Syria solve the crisis in the country. “They are involved in the killings of Syrian people,” he noted. He added that Iran is the only country that has been raising a strong voice for the rights of the Syrians, which is why it is not invited to the Geneva-2 conference. He said that Iran believes that the crisis in Syria should be resolved peacefully. The Chief of ‘Such TV’ added that the US and its allies have destabilized Syria just to please the Zionist Regime. “This is a scheme to protect the Zionist Regime,” he noted. Iftikhar Hussain Naqvi said that the US is trying to impose its own solution to the the crisis in Syria in Iran’s absence, in reply to a question on the reason for the Americansˈ move. He added that the conflict is created in Syria because the country is not accepting the hegemony of the Zionist Regime in the region. He said that actual problem is that some Arab states, too, are trying to isolate Iran from regional politics. He added that the US and its allies must understand that Iran’s role cannot be ignored in the region. “Iran is a peaceful country and wants to work with international country for the stability of the world,” he said./end