Islamic countries duty-bound to support Palestinians: Iran FM

Tehran Times Political Desk

November 15, 2006

TEHRAN -- Iran believes the helpless Zionist regime will not be able to maintain its existence through massacres, Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said here on Tuesday.

At a joint press conference with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud al-Zahar, Mottaki condemned the recent atrocities committed by the Israeli military in the occupied territories, saying that it is the duty of all Islamic and Arab countries as well as international organizations to fully support the Palestinians’ resistance.

Iran will join the efforts of the Arab countries that agreed to support the Palestinian people at the recent Arab foreign ministers conference in Cairo, he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Mottaki said that Tehran has not received any request for talks with the United States and has not yet made any decision on negotiations with Washington.

When Iraqi authorities asked Iran to sit at the negotiating table with the U.S., the Islamic Republic of Iran initially agreed in order to help the Iraqi people resolve their problems, he added.

However, when it became apparent that the U.S. wanted to use the talks for propaganda purposes, Iranian officials decided not to participate in the negotiations, he explained.

Al-Zahar expressed gratitude for Tehran’s financial and political support for the Palestinians and added that most of the ministers of the national unity government and the majority of MPs in the Palestinian parliament are Hamas members.

The recent Cairo meeting was different than the previous ones because the Arab countries decided to support Palestine in practice and the participants expressed their dissatisfaction with the U.S. attitude toward the Zionists’ crimes, he noted.