The Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Wednesday stressed on the importance of re establishing peace and the importance of it to propel growth and prosperity in the Middle East.
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, he said: “we need to create hope in the region. We need to get rid of despair”.
Lashing it out at the US, he called the killing of Major General Qassim Soleimani as illegal and an ignorant and arrogant move which will impede the stabilizing security situation in the region.
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He highlighted the importance of the former commander of the Quds force in fighting the Islamic State militants and other extremists in the region and said that this will only assist in the revival of the terror groups in the region.
He said that 430 Indian cities saw various forms of protests due to this unilateral action of the US.
He also accused the US and President Donald Trump of scuttling all opportunities for peace in the region by withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan, which was finalized in 2015.
He said that Iran is interested in pursuing diplomacy but will not negotiate with the US.
Regarding the issue of a Ukrainian International Airlines flight being shot down after taking off from Tehran, he pointed out that it was a mistake and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had taken note of the incident.
The Raisina Dialogue began on Tuesday and is expected to conclude by Thursday. It is an annual conference on Geo-politics, jointly organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observers Research Foundation (ORF).