Iran reiterates need for establishment of regional security arrangements
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi underscored Iran’s legitimate right to defend its sovereignty and national security, as well as the need to establish regional security arrangements without the involvement of extra-regional powers.
In a post on Instagram on Saturday, Araghchi said he had held separate phone conversations with 12 regional counterparts over the past 48 hours, discussing the latest international developments, the consequences of provocative actions by the United States and Israel, and the need to respect national sovereignty and halt aggression and threats.
Araghchi held talks with his counterparts from Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Cyprus, Turkey, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Iraq and Pakistan.
Elaborating on the discussions, Araghchi said he had outlined Iran’s principled positions and stressed the need for countries to respect one another’s national sovereignty, put an end to aggression and threats, refrain from destructive foreign interference, and recognize regional countries’ responsibility to prevent insecurity from spreading.
Iran’s has repeatedly underlined the establishment of a regional security framework without involvement of foreign powers, saying that such involvements have created insecurity in the region, especially the Persian Gulf.
During the recent acts of aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran, some regional countries allowed the US to use their territories to launch attacks on Iran.
In response, Iran’s Armed Forces targeted the US military bases in those countries, inflicting heavy blows to the US in those countries.
Iran says its strikes on the US military bases in regional countries have exposed the US vulnerabilities, stressing that the regional countries need establishment of regional framework for their security.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that Iran will never remain silent or refrain from a deterrent response if neighboring countries’ territory is once again used to directly violate its national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the security of its citizens.
Baqaei said some regional countries had not only failed to prevent the US war machine from using their territory, airspace and infrastructure to carry out aggression against Iran, but had, in some cases, encouraged and facilitated the attacks.
He urged them to abandon past approaches and mistakes through genuine prudence.