Statement by Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman at the 48th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers

Draft Statement by H.E. Saeid Khatibzadeh Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran and The Spokesperson for the Ministry at The 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of The Organization of Islamic Cooperation Islamabad, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 23 March 2022

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

الحمدلله رب العالمین و الصلوه و السلام علی سیدنا و نبینا محمد و آله الطاهرین و صحبه المنتجبین.

Your Excellency, My dear brother, Mr. Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi, distinguished Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, 

Your Excellency, Ambassador Hissein Brahim Taha, distinguished Secretary General of the OIC

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to see all colleagues, Ministers of foreign affairs as well as other esteemed dignitaries in this important meeting. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the 75th anniversary of the independence of our friendly and brotherly neighboring country, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and express my gratitude and appreciation to my dear Pakistani brothers, especially my friend and colleague, H.E. Mr. Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi, the honorable Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for their gracious hospitality and warm welcoming extended to me and my accompanying delegation.

Excellencies,

Insecurity and instability in the West Asian region is deeply rooted in the crisis of Palestine and the systematic occupation of Palestinian territories by the Zionists, as the only example of apartheid in today world. As the representative of  one of the founding members of the OIC, there is no need to remind that this organization was founded on the cause of Palestine and accordingly, ensuring the basic rights of Palestinians, including but not limited to, return of all refugees to their homeland and the establishment of the independent Palestine State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its eternal Capital, should remain as the highest priority and the main focus of all our activities and achieving this goal must always be considered as the highest value in all our endeavors within the framework of this Organization. It is a great disappointment to see that despite more than 50 years of efforts by this organization, the Palestinian people are still suffering from the ongoing brutal occupation of their lands and are deprived of their most fundamental rights. 

Mr. Chairman,

One of the most unfortunate developments in recent years is the inclination to and welcoming approach of some Member States to the hypocritical policies of the Zionist regime and its main sponsor and advocate, the United States of America, to advance the colonial policy of “normalization” with the Islamic countries. This is an alarm for those who are craving for the unity and prosperity of the Islamic Ummah. This is happening while the OIC has always firmly rejected any form of normalization of relations with this apartheid regime and the Council of Foreign Ministers in its numerous resolutions at different times has condemned any form of normalization with this regime and has even demanded: “to impose sanctions, that might go as far as membership suspension, on States failing to abide by OIC resolutions, especially resolutions on the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the cause of Palestine, which constitute the core of the OIC and the basis of its existence, which could go as far as to freeze their membership.” 

Therefore, the OIC should emphasize its permanent position on the firm opposition to any form of compromise against the advancement of the sinister policy of normalization and take tangible steps against this plague for unity and the welfare of the Islamic Ummah, and prohibit further infiltration of the Zionist regime in the Islamic world.

The historic experience of the compromisers testifies that the Zionist regime pursues no policy towards Palestine and other Islamic countries but de-identifying, disintegrating and occupying, inciting instability and decaying and destruction of their Muslim allies and that these compromisers have been among those who have tasted the bitter poison of treason to the Quds and the religion of Islam firsthand. We should know that the normalization of relations with this usurper regime is a blatant tyranny against the oppressed people of Palestine and the intensification of this process, will encourage further attacks of the Zionist regime against the fragile authority of Palestinians on the current disparate lands under their supervision with the eventual goal of the complete occupation of Palestine and establishment of the Jewish dominance from the Nile to the Euphrates. The Islamic Republic of Iran is confident that this fantasy of the Zionists and their cronies will not have a pleasant outcome and with the help and the will of Allah, the world will soon celebrate the establishment of the Islamic State of Palestine in Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that only the Palestinian people should decide their destiny. In this context, the Islamic Republic of Iran has proposed a four-point plan called “Holding a National Referendum in Palestine” which is also recorded as a UN document. We believe that the end of the Zionist regime is achievable not through the military solution or the implementation of already failed political initiatives, but through holding a genuine referendum, involving all inhabitants of occupied Palestine and all Palestinian expatriates driven out from their homeland, with every religious or political background.

Mr. Chairman,

Today, Afghanistan is facing the conjunction of political, social, economic, security, and humanitarian crises which are the immediate result of failed policies and irresponsible, miscalculated, and unilateral actions of the US during the past two decades. The Islamic Republic of Iran views the stability in Kabul as the stability in Tehran and has spared no efforts it could to bring peace and tranquility in Afghanistan, before and after the fall of the former government in the country. The way out of the current situation in Afghanistan is to use all the human capacity of the country to help achieve the goal of forming an inclusive government with the participation of all Afghani political and ethnic groups.

The West has caused calamitous damage to Afghanistan by adopting a policy of famine and hunger. Poverty and insecurity caused by recent developments, alongside the humanitarian crisis caused by the dire economic situation intensified by the occupying powers’ seizure of the Afghan people’s assets, led to the mass migration to the neighboring countries, especially the Islamic Republic of Iran. We express our concern towards the dire economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and view this as a proper ground for the recruitment of terrorist combatants by terrorist groups, in particular DAESH, in Afghanistan. This reality raises the need for the convergence of regional States to send humanitarian assistance to alleviate the humanitarian situation and help the authorities to take a firm stand against the DAESH Takfiri terrorist group. The Islamic Republic of Iran sympathizes and accompanies the people of Afghanistan in these trying times and encourages the Afghan authorities to form an all-inclusive government and deliver their international commitments, including respecting the rights of women and children. We adjust our relations according to analysis based on the ongoing monitoring of the behavior of this group towards the Afghan people and their interaction with different ethnic and political ethnicities in forming the expected all-inclusive government. 

Security threats facing the Islamic world take a different shape every day and Takfiri terrorism created and supported by the West still claims lives in our region. Brutal actions leading to the hurtful explosion in Friday prayers in Kucha Risaldar mosque in Pakistan left many martyrs and injured innocent prayers. We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and condemn this heinous atrocity that targets the unity of Muslims. Cooperation and participation of the OIC and its Member States to confront the sinister phenomenon of terrorism and the support of the Government of Pakistan in this endeavor is of great importance. We also request the Government of Pakistan to take all necessary steps to ensure the protection of innocent people - especially religious minorities - against the cruel and criminal acts of Takfiri terrorist groups and to take the required precautionary measures in this regard so that we do not see more violent and brutal attacks by extremist groups on religious communities.

On Syria, we welcome the recent positive developments in the relations between the Syrian Arab Republic and some countries in the region. While supporting the necessity of ensuring full security and welfare of the Syrian people, the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns military attacks by the Zionist regime of Israel against Syria including the most recent one in the northern suburb of Damascus which caused human losses.

Dear colleagues,

The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently supported the resolution of disputes and issues related to the Member States of the Organization through dialogue and peaceful means. As the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran at this noble meeting, I would like to stress the importance of the resolution of the issue of Kashmir through dialogue and diplomatic means. Iran would like to express its full readiness to provide to the parties of the dispute with all its capacities to help resolve this issue.

We welcome and congratulate Muslims around the world as the UN General Assembly approved the resolution setting March 15th as the international day to combat Islamophobia proposed by the members of the OIC with the specific role played by our brotherly neighboring country Pakistan in this regard. The resolution adopted by 193 members of the UNGA and co-sponsored by 55 countries, confirms that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnicity and international efforts to foster a global dialogue on the promotion of a culture of tolerance and peace at all levels should be promoted and strengthened.

Achieving a bright future and prosperity for the Islamic Ummah is possible only through the realization of unity, convergence, and increased participation between the Islamic countries and other members of the Islamic Ummah. This issue should be considered the most important strategic goal of the Islamic world by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Increasing economic and commercial cooperation among the Member States and strengthening the economic and commercial infrastructures, including COMCEC is what Islamic countries need today. The Islamic Republic of Iran supports this cooperation and believes that the final goal should be to help the sustainable development of members, based on the Member States’ inclusive participation and mutual interests. I have the pleasure to officially announce our commitment to implement the trade preferential system among Member States of the OIC (TPS/OIC) that will be in effect in July 2022 to the COMCEC Coordination Office. By implementing this system, we can witness ever-growing commercial trade among Islamic countries. 

Moreover, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s capabilities to combat the COIVD-19 pandemic, including vaccine production, can be shared with other Islamic countries. We hope that by facilitating the conditions of presence of our representatives to the OIC and with the responsible cooperation of the Organization and the host country’s officials, we could see practical steps for more cooperation and empathy among the Member States.

Last but not least, while commemorating the martyrs of the Mina incident, we hope that by reducing the incidence of coronavirus pandemic and providing the necessary safety and immunity for humankind against this destructive virus, we can once again see the display of unity of Muslims in Abrahamic Hajj ceremony. I also wish that this meeting could play a decisive role in strengthening solidarity and unity among Muslim nations in the bright path of isolating and eventually defeating the occupying regime of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the complete liberation of the Palestinian-Islamic territories under the occupation of Zionism, and the formation of an independent Palestinian State throughout the Palestinian Territory with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as it Capital, and also take effective steps to alleviate the problems and sufferings of our Afghan brothers.

 

والسلام علیکم و رحمت الله و برکاته

Thank you.