Spokesman: Iran Seriously Concerned about Developments in Region
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran once again voiced serious concern over the current developments in region, specially in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.
“We are concerned about the developments in Egypt and polarization of that country, and we are also concerned about conflicts in Syria, Eypt and Lebanon because these conflicts only serve the interests of the Zionist regime,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Araqchi said, speaking to reporters here in Tehran on Tuesday.
“Iran is closely monitoring the recent developments in the Middle East and, naturally, this is top on the agenda of the Foreign Ministry.”
He pointed to the recent remarks by Supreme Leader about the regional developments, and said, “We invite both sides in Egypt to observe self-restraint and advise them to pay attention to Supreme Leader's guidelines".
Earlier, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei expressed concern about the ongoing conflicts and events in the regional Islamic states.
“Unfortunately, contrary to Iran’s gratifying developments, the Islamic region’s events are source of concern,” Ayatollah Khamenei stated, addressing a large number of Iranian worshipers during Eid al-Fitr prayers at Tehran University.
The Leader also expressed concern about the tense conditions in Egypt, and said, “The possibility of outbreak of civil war in this country (Egypt) has been increased, and this is a tragedy.”
Ayatollah Khamenei further called on all Egyptian political and religious groups to learn lessons from presence of foreign-backed terrorists in Syria and from Israeli plots against the Islamic world, and warned the Egyptian nation against the grave consequences of the current circumstances.
Emphasizing the need for democracy in the North African country, the Leader stated that crisis in Egypt should be resolved by the Egyptians alone, and also dismissed any foreign interference in the Muslim country.
Egypt has been the scene of increasing violence since the overthrow of Mursi by the army in early July. Dozens of protesters, mostly Mursi’s supporters, have been killed or wounded during the violence that broke out after the overthrow.
