A senior Iranian diplomat says financial and military support for terrorist groups is a dangerous initiative, posing a threat to regional and international countries.

“Pressure [exerted] by certain countries to overthrow the legitimate Syrian government in addition to financial and military support for terrorist groups was a dangerous initiative which strengthened terrorist groups and turned into a threat to regional countries and the international community,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a meeting with Yves Rossier, the State Secretary at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), in Tehran on Saturday.

He expressed hope that regional countries would boost cooperation to fight terrorism and extremism in a “committed and responsible” way.

The Iranian envoy also said the people of Syria and Yemen have the right to determine their own fate and said the crises in the two Arab countries should be settled through dialog.

Amir-Abdollahian also warned against the ongoing catastrophic human situation in Yemen and said humanitarian aid should be dispatched to the war-hit country while Saudi Arabia should stop its aggression. He called for speeding up the process of national dialog in the Arab state.

Saudi Arabia launched its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on July 21 that at least 1,693 civilians had been killed and 3,829 others injured in the Arab country since March 26. However, local sources say over 4,500 people have lost their lives since then.

 

Iran’s more influential role after nuclear talks conclusion

The Swiss official, for his part, said a recent nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries would prepare the ground for the Islamic Republic’s more influential role on regional developments.

Iran and the P5+1 group of countries succeeded in finalizing the text of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on July 14 after 18 days of intense negotiations and all-nighters that capped around 23 months of talks between Tehran and the six world powers.

Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans, against the Islamic Republic.

The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously endorsed a draft resolution turning the JCPOA into international law. All 15 members of the world body voted for the draft UN resolution in New York, setting the stage for the lifting of the Security Council sanctions against Iran.

Rossier called for cooperation among Iran, Switzerland and the United Nations to improve the humanitarian situation in Syria.

Cities and towns across Syria have suffered bomb attacks as well as mortar and rocket fire by Takfiri terrorists since conflict broke out in the Arab country more than four years ago.

The conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, has reportedly claimed more than 230,000 lives up until now.

The violence has also forced over 3.8 million Syrians to take refuge in neighboring countries, namely Jordan and Lebanon. More than 7.2 million others have been displaced within Syria, according to the United Nations.

By Press TV