Afkham: Iran’s Priority is Cooperation with Neighboring Countries

Mukhtar Haddad

tackled the principles of the Iranian government strategy on boosting security and stability in the region. During a special interview with al-Ahed she said: "The priority is cooperation with the neighboring countries and the Islamic countries in the region".

Afkham added: "Over the past couple of years, Iran was following continuously and with good intentions the issue of boosting the various domains of cooperation with all the neighboring countries, and we have reached good results though with discrepant ratios in this field. However, we are still a long way away from the goal we set and which we must cooperate to achieve."

Afkham also said: "The current conditions in the region and the regional crises and terrorist and extreme threats which have reached the borders of the European continent show that we must set the foundations for collective cooperation to transcend successfully these crises and thus usher into a new stage."

Afkham further highlighted that "the states in the region have various common points and several powers to move more forcefully than in the past; though, unfortunately, there are some countries which try to highlight the differences in viewpoints, the point that contradicts with the interests of the Islamic peoples in the region, and we are currently witnessing the negative repercussions of such an act".

The Iranian FM Spokeswoman welcomed the recent statements made by the Qatari officials on carrying regional dialogue and discussion. She asserted the need to carry such dialogue and consultations between the regional states in the light of the current regional developments. She said that such consultations may help in achieving such a dialogue.

In the interview with Al Ahed, Afkham said: "Dialogue and constructive relations are linked to our future in the region, and staying away from dialogue makes achieving this goal more difficult."

Afkham hailed proximity and constructive dealing between the states of the region saying that will have positive effects on the future of the region.

She also stressed that Iran cooperates and carries dialogue with the various "Persian Gulf" states and it welcomes boosting dialogue among the Muslim neighboring states in the region. She highlighted that these states need to exert all the necessary efforts to promote dialogue and to set the foundation and the appropriate conditions for that, underscoring that boosting cooperation between the states in the region will limit the magnitude of foreign intervention.

Afkham concluded saying: "Away from foreign intervention, the regional states are able to clear all misunderstandings and drive away religious ordeals and terrorism and those behind them - the Zionist entity and the terrorist and Takfiri organizations in the region".

Source: al-Ahed News, Translated and Edited by website team