Iran censures Israel as source of instability, “organized terrorism” in region

Nasser Kan’ani made the remarks on Monday night, reacting to an opinion piece penned by US President Joe Biden and published on the Washington Post daily newspaper on Saturday.

“The Zionist regime is the main source of instability and a major driver of the spread of organized terrorism in the region. The full support of America for the regime is the compelling reason that invalidates the US government’s claims of pacifism,” the Iranian diplomat stated.

Kan’ani dismissed Biden’s claim to create a stable and secure Middle East, saying it was consistent with his insistence on maintaining his predecessor’s “maximum pressure” campaign against the Islamic Republic.

A safer and more stable region, he went on, can only materialize if the US ends its policy of sowing divisions among regional countries, stops the flow of weapons to the region, respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states, abandons the policy of unconditional support for Israel, and puts an end to its policy of Iranophobia.

He underlined that the US remains responsible for the instability in West Asia as long as such wrong and crisis-making policies are not rectified.

The spokesman also scoffed at Biden’s empty boast of annihilating Daesh terrorist group and combating terrorism in the region.

The statements of former US president Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding the origin of Daesh contradict Biden’s claims, he retorted.

Kan’ani argued that the cowardly assassination of Iran’s top anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani was the greatest contribution the United States has made to Daesh and other Takfiri terror groups.

The Iranian diplomat also called Biden’s opinion piece a “one-sided and unrealistic narrative” of the US government’s policies in West Asia.

He urged American statesmen to better understand the new realities of the world, discard their unilateralist approach, and allow regional countries to act on the basis of their collective values, interests, and realities to ensure regional security.

Biden will be touring the Middle East from July 13 to 16, stopping off in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories before heading to Saudi Arabia.

In his article published in the opinion section of the Washington Post, the Democratic US president claimed that his foreign policy had made the Middle East more stable and secure in comparison with the era of his Republican predecessor.

He also put out a defense of his much-criticized visit to Saudi Arabia, saying he planned to “reorient” relations with the oil-rich kingdom.

Biden is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto leader, who is believed to have been behind the 2018 murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.