The remarks were made by Ali Akbar Velayati, Head of Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council, in a meeting with a number of Syrian scholars on Saturday in Tehran.
“Extremist movements and terrorists who are backed by certain Arab states and reactionary countries in the Middle East will not only affect the region, but will endanger the stability and peace for the world as well as their allies,” he said.
He referred to the attempts made by enemies of Islam in creating discord and conflict among the Islamic Ummah, saying “on the other hand, what Iran has done so far was to maintain the unity among the whole Islamic Ummah, be it Shias or Sunnis.”
Noting that in the past, enemies used to advance with their plans in other countries at their own expense, Velayati expressed regret over seeing conflicts now created among Muslims at the expense of the Muslims themselves; “we defined the resistance front for this very purpose to stand against such plots,” he added.
The Iranian senior official then stressed that Lebanon’s Hezbollah preserves the dignity of the Arab and Islamic world, saying “while the origin of extremists, terrorists and Takfiris in the region is clear to all, we are still witness to the support and effort of certain colonial and reactionary countries in defining Hezbollah – the symbol of resistance and resilience – as a terrorist organization.”
Velayati went on to add that, “the enemies’ plot in the region, despite all machinations, will never be realized.”
About the future of Syria, he said “only the Syrian people should have a say in the future of their country, without any outside interference.”
He went on to add, “the participation of the Islamic Republic has been at the request of Syria’s legitimate government, but it will still be the Syrian people themselves who will decide for the future of their own country.”
The head of the Syrian delegation, for his part, expressed hope for further expansion of relations between Iran and Syria’s nations and governments.
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