Senior Cleric: Iran Firmly Against US Presence in Region

Rasa - Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Hojjatoleslam Kazzem Seddiqi underlined that the Islamic Republic is firmly against the meddling role of the trans-Regional, the US in particular, in the Middle East.

News ID: 436776

Date: 09 March 2018 - 18:41

RNA - Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people in Tehran University on Friday, Hojjatoleslam Seddiqi said, "How wisely Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei told the US that the region is non of its business.

The senior cleric reiterated that the US presence in the region has been seditious.

"We will not allow any country to interfere in our affairs," Hojjatoleslam Seddiqi said.

On Thursday, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei categorically rejected any possibility for talks with Washington over Iran's regional policies.

"The seditionist US administration which promotes corruption asks why we are present in the region. We are already in the region (our country is located in this region). Should we take permission from you?" Ayatollah Khamenei said in Tehran.

"We should have talks with the regional states over our presence in the region. Why should we talk to you? If we ever decide to establish a presence in the US, then yes we need to talk to you," he added, addressing Washington.

According to Fars News Agancy, he also blasted certain European states which have asked for negotiations with Iran on its presence in the region, and said, "It is no way related to you. Why are you here (in the region)? Here is our region."

"We, ourselves, hold talks with the regional people and governments," Ayatollah Khamenei said, adding that Iran has in the past held negotiations with the countries in the region which yielded positive results.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi had late last week categorically dismissed reports that Tehran and several European nations have begun negotiations over the Islamic Republic's role in the Middle East.

"Despite the fact that Iran and the European Union (EU) have been negotiating about various regional subjects for decades, no discussions have been held over Tehran’s regional influence," Qassemi said.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman made the remarks after several western diplomats claimed that Europe and Iran have commenced talks on Tehran’s role in the Middle East.

"Without any doubt this topic is not a new or odd one, but we reject such claims concerning an agreement for talks based on a definite framework," he added.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman went on to say that Tehran and several EU nations did hold talks on the sidelines of the recent Munich conference about the situation in Yemen, however, he stressed that the talks were focused on the subject of aid delivery and ending Saudi Arabia's war on its impoverished neighbor.

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement and reinstate former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a staunch ally of the Riyadh regime.

At least 15,700 people have been killed since the onset of Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen. Much of the Arabian Peninsula country's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and factories, has been reduced to rubble due to the war.

The United Nations says a record 22.2 million people are in need of food aid, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.

847/940