Short sighted policies and a history of interventionism in the region are the primary cause of terrorism, the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said upon arriving in New York for a United Nations forum on Friday.
“The nightmare that we are facing in the region is a consequence of many years of intervention and short-sighted policies by the United States in the region which has resulted, as expected, in the exacerbation of extremism and terrorism in our region,” Zarif said to Press TV.
The US has a decades long history of intervention in the area, through both direct military involvement, and the funding of various groups who can serve western political interests, many of whom subscribe to extremist ideologies.
The foreign minister expressed hope and satisfaction in the ability of the people of Iran, Syria, and Iraq to retake the region from extremist groups, and said that his own state of Iran has been “at the forefront” of the struggle.
Iran has been working closely with the governments of Russia and Turkey to help broker the Astana peace talks between the Syrian government and certain sectors of the foreign-backed opposition.
While Iran supports a ceasefire, Zarif emphasized that such an agreement would “obviously” exclude groups like the Islamic State group and the al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra. Both groups are active in Syria and Iran is involved in military operations against them.
Iran, along with Russia, is approved by the Syrian government to engage in combat operations against extremist organizations operating in its territory.
Zarif condemned “countries in the region” who fund and provide arms to extremist organizations and who “provide the ideology of hatred and exclusion which lies at the heart of these extremist movements.”
Speaking on the second anniversary of the major nuclear deal signed on July 14th, 2015 at the UN Security Council, Zarif also criticized the US's failure to uphold the “spirit” of the agreement recently, by “not allowing Iran to enjoy the full benefits of the nuclear deal.”
He pointed out that the deal came about when it became clear that the western policy of pressure against Iran was “ineffective.”
Iran has been consistently confirmed to be in full compliance with the deal, by the International Atomic Energy Organization that was appointed to monitor its implementation.
In spite of Iran's efforts toward compliance and dialogue, U.S. Ambassador to the UN recently referred to Iran, along with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as a “threat” preventing the global ban of nuclear arms. Iran supported the recently debated measure in the UN to place a global ban on nuclear weapons, while the U.S. was among the most vocal opponents of a global ban.
U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the nuclear deal with Iran in his campaign, and has said his administration is “reviewing” it to ensure it is in the U.S.'s “interest.”