US, Israel seeking to disintegrate ‘powerful’ Islamic countries: Pezeshkian
Iranian president said the United States and Israel are seeking to weaken and disintegrate major Islamic states as they cannot tolerate the presence of “great and powerful” countries like Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in the region.
Masoud Pezeshkian made the remarks in a phone conversation with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Friday, during which they discussed the latest joint aggression by the US and Israel against Iran.
Pezeshkian underlined that Iran was subjected to military attacks for the second time amid nuclear negotiations with the US – a move that shows Washington is not seeking a genuine resolution to Iran’s nuclear issue.
Referring to Iran’s attacks on the US military bases in the regional countries, the Iranian president said Tehran has no problem with Islamic countries, but the use of their territories and airspaces by the US and Israel to launch military strikes on Iran has forced the Iranian armed forces to target the American bases in the regional countries in the framework of the “right to legitimate defense”.
Enemies’ plots
Pezeshkian called on the Islamic countries to remain vigilant against conspiracies by the enemies of the Islamic countries to sow discord among the regional nations. He also welcomed any initiative by regional countries to strengthen unity, restore stability and promote peace in the Middle East region.
The conversation came as the US and Israeli armed forces have launched new aggression against Iran since February 28.
The attacks have claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in Iran, including the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several other high-ranking officials.
Iranian armed forces have decisively retaliated against the strikes by launching barrages of missile and drones against the Israeli-occupied territories as well as US bases in region.
No justification for aggression
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei in an interview with China’s Xinhua news agency described the US as a “rogue actor” in the international system and a serious threat to global peace and security.
Baqaei said that the recent US actions against Iran could not be justified under any rule of international law.
“This aggressive act cannot be justified by any argument or principle of international law. It constitutes a violation of peace, and the Iranian nation is determined to defend itself as long as necessary”.
Baqaei added that many countries in the region have come to realize that the US military presence in the region has brought more problems than stability for the region.
The Iranian official stressed that regional stability largely depends on cooperation among regional states.