Iran Calls for West’s Seriousness in Battle against Terrorism
MASHHAD (Tasnim) – The West has finally come to an understanding about the threat of terrorist groups operating in Iraq and Syria, Iran’s president said, hoping that the Western governments would be “serious” in the battle against terrorism.
“The outcome of continuated terrorist moves in the region is the spread of violence and their continuation will result in instability in the region and in the world,” President Hassan Rouhani said in a meeting with Danish Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Sunday.
The president also expressed the hope that the West would be serious in its decision to take action against terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, noting that Tehran has been warning against that “clear truth” since long ago.
However, Rouhani added, no major shift has still occurred in the attitude of certain countries which support terrorists in the region.
“Terrorists are still being equipped and sponsored. We should do something that they (supporters) end backings for the terrorists,” the president insisted.
The European diplomat, for his part, voiced Copenhagen’s readiness to contribute to the campaign against terrorism.
“In the West, we have come to the conclusion that terrorist groups are active in Syria and Iraq, and today, we are determined to fight against terrorists and encourage the countries that sponsor terrorists to stop supports,” Lidegaard explained.
The Western governments have decided to build a coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group, in a meeting of ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Canada, the US, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark in Wales.
The ISIL terrorist group, which controls parts of Syria's northern territory, sent its fighters into neighboring Iraq in June, quickly seizing swaths of land straddling the border between the two countries.
It is believed to be supported by the West and some regional Arab countries.
