Insecure Mideast would be detrimental to U.S., Israel: Iran

Rahim-Safavi, a former commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, made the remarks during a press conference in Tehran on Saturday.

“The United States is making efforts to increase insecurity in Syria by inciting Turkey,” he said.

But “the insecurity in the region will be to the detriment of the interests of the United States and Israel,” Rahim-Safavi added.

On November 21, Turkey asked NATO to deploy advanced surface-to-air Patriot missiles on its border with Syria, and despite strong opposition from Iran, Russia and Syria, the Western military alliance approved Ankara’s request on December 4.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rahim-Safavi stated that Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iraq are main players in the Middle East region.

He added, “We warn smaller countries that petrodollars cannot make them play key roles in the region.”

The top advisor to the Supreme Leader also noted that the Persian Gulf states, except Iran, are spending billions of dollars to purchase arms and they do not intend to support the Palestinians or fight against the Zionist regime with those weapons, rather these countries are carrying out a plot hatched by the U.S. and Israel.

Rahim-Safavi also said that before the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian people took control of the weapons that the Shah had purchased from the U.S. and used the very weapons to counter the United States.

“So, I call on the countries, which are buying weapons from the United States, to be aware that something similar might happen to (them) as well,” he added.

He described the Islamic Republic of Iran as the backbone of security and development in the region, and emphasized that long-lasting peace in the region requires the cooperation of the eight neighboring Persian Gulf littoral states.

MT/EP
MNA