Iran wants Saudi Arabia back on track

TEHRAN, May 09 (MNA) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson expressed hope that Saudis will give up wrong policies and take up normal duties as hosts of Hajj ritual. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari at his weekly press conference on Monday in Tehran said “we have repeatedly stated that any policy based on exploitation of terrorism in the region is unproductive and will yield negative results.” “It is crystal clear that terrorist movements exist all over the region seeking to bring about disorderliness though their presence would not be in favor of any regional or international actor,” he added. The official noted “we expect friends and neighbors to deal with these issues with a strategic vision preventing terrorists form pursuing their goals in causing disruption.” In response to a question on Saudi Arabia’s delay in clearing Hajj issues, Jaberi Ansari said “Saudis keep hindering deployment of Iranian pilgrims to Mecca and if they continue the current trend over the coming days, it would literally become impossible for Iranians to attend the Rituals of Hajj.” He further expressed hope that Saudis would put an end to their wrong policies with regard to Hajj. When asked about the latest developments in Turkey and resignation of the neighboring country’s prime minister, Iran’s Jaberi Ansari underlined “we would not comment of Turkey’s domestic developments while the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes boosting ties with Turkey.” The Foreign Ministry official called for further venues for development of cooperation between Iran and Turkey in the current circumstance as well as in future. Touching upon Iran-Russia negotiations over the violation of ceasefire in Syria, FM spokesperson said “normal and continuous consultations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia over bilateral ties as well as regional and international developments are underway.” “Vienna meetings over the Syrian issue had announced a ceasefire and a mechanism had been envisaged in the agreement for the process to be observed and monitored,” he emphasized. The official said “we declared that one fundamental problem to peace and reconciliation is Syria is that one side of the argument has no specific identity and virtually there exists no guarantee that they would comply with the reached agreements.” “Violation of ceasefire in Syria confirms our estimation that the opposition and armed groups would not fulfill their commitments,” underlined Jaberi Ansari adding “the issue marks one of the main barriers to peace process in Syria.” FM spokesman pointed to US seizure of $2bn of Iranian assets commenting “a committee was formed to address the issue while the results of their surveys and studies have been presented to the president which will be presented in the form of an statement after being discussed at the meeting of the Supreme National Security Council.” He referred to the impact of FM Zarif’s meetings in New York on the implementation of the obligation of the other party in JCPOA; “the main axis of talks was the latest status of JCPOA particularly pertaining to banking and financial activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” “The political environment and the pressures done in Western countries and US are on the agenda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we are seeking to resolve banking issues in near future,” said the official stating “the Iranian government will represent the interests of the nation though complete implementation of the nuclear deal might prove to be a time-consuming process.” He went on to touch upon the Israel's recent attacks on Gaza emphasizing “the situation in Palestine in general and Gaza in particular is a clear instance of violating human rights while some agents at the international level keep making slogans on independence and national sovereignty, rights of nations for self-determination and other issues associated with international potential governing the conditions of war and occupation.” “Gaza has long been caught in an inhuman siege; unfortunately, governments in the region, Islamic states and Palestinian government, who must play the most important role in this regard, pay the least amount of attention to the question of Palestine and its people’s rights due to certain regional conflicts,” added the official.