US instigating wars, acts of terror in Asia: Iran's parliament speaker

Rasa - Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the United States seeks to engage Asian countries in wars and acts of terror with the purpose of exhausting their resources and hindering their progress.

News ID: 441987

Date: 09 December 2018 - 11:25

RNA - Larijani made the remarks in Tehran on Saturday in an address to the closing ceremony of the second Speakers' Conference on the challenge of terrorism and inter-regional connectivity, attended by speakers from Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey.

He added that the US had created terrorist groups in Asia because the region enjoyed great economic and energy potential.

For this reason, Asian countries have been engaged in wars over the past three decades and now most of terrorist groups are in Asia, the top Iranian parliamentarian said.

"Today, the world cannot tolerate unilateralism," Larijani added and stressed the importance of finding pragmatic ways to uproot terrorism.

Meanwhile, speaking to Iranian and foreign reporters at the end of the conference, Larijani said the participants had discussed practical ways and would take steps to fight terrorism.

During the crises in Iraq and Syria, some American and European individuals joined terrorist organizations but they have now returned to their homeland, which resulted in a pause in their activities, he added.

In their final statement, the six Asian countries emphasized that the fight against terrorism should not be limited only to the elimination of terrorists and terror organizations but should fully address the root causes of the scourge.

They agreed that the third conference of the six Asian countries would be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul in 2019.

The six parliament speakers once again emphasized that peace and lasting progress were preconditions for the expansion of relations, integrity and convergence among countries and stressed the importance of more interaction and dialogue among states.

The statement said the United Nations played a leading role in international cooperation aimed at preventing and countering terrorism and extremism and underlined the need to adopt all measures in conformity with international law and the UN Charter.

According to Press TV, the participants at the Tehran conference supported any bid to achieve sustainable economic development at national and regional levels.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on all neighboring and regional countries to step up an all-out fight against terrorism and extremism, saying major powers had created and supported terrorist groups.

He said the Tehran conference was a "good and useful initiative" to improve security in the region and cooperation among regional countries, adding, "Those who have created terrorist groups in the past decades had in fact committed high treason against regional nations."

"The US, the West and the Zionist regime (Israel) are supporters of terrorist groups’ activities in Iran," Rouhani pointed out.

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