UK needs major change in approach towards ME crises

“The change of Britain’s approach toward ME crises was highly demanded in addition to stress on realistic understanding of the issues and emphasis on political solutions,” said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, commenting on the accomplishments of his visit to London in an interview with the national television of Iran, IRIB, on Friday.

He mentioned that during all meetings the Islamic Republic decried the present security and military ways implemented in the region and re-stressed Iran’s solid stance for political solutions saying that “the improper current moves have worsened the situation in the Middle East of which the deluging of refugees to other countries and the spread of the insecurity to even European region are among the first consequences.”

The senior diplomat recounted the agreement made to prioritize dialogues in the region and simultaneously between EU officials and the British to find a way out of the crises in Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen.

The war against terrorism in Iraq was another topic in the agenda of bilateral talks, according to Amir-Abdollahian.

“The more realistic approach taken by the EU countries and the UK, the more practical solutions we would have for the crises in the region,” underlined the Iranian diplomat.

The Foreign Ministry official described his talks with the British side over the mayhem in Syria, Bahrain, Libya, Iraq, and Yemen constructive.

“We would have no direct bilateral talks with the Americans, over the regional issues,” highlighted the ranking diplomat in response to question on the possibility of Tehran-Washington cooperation to tackle the mayhem in the ME.

Officially invited by Philip Hammond, the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian left Tehran for London on October 19, as the first official visit of an Iranian diplomat after the reopening of the embassies in Tehran and London in last month.

During his stay in London, he met with UK's National Security Adviser to PM Mark Lyall-Grant and Tobias Ellwood, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in addition to Meeting with Philip Hammond.

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