Tehran, June 29: Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has recommended the US administration to abandon its “interfering” policies and respect rights of all nations.
“This change will be beneficial both to the region and to the US itself,” Larijani said in an address to the 21st Executive Committee meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States in Algerian capital Algiers on Sunday.
“Terrorism and occupation are two sides of a coin. Islamic countries should try to make occupiers cease their occupation in order to put an end to terrorism,” he added.
He lashed out at the silence of the international community to ease pains of the brave and oppressed Palestinian people, saying, “International powers made beautiful remarks, which bore no fruits. Apparently, we are living in the era of words.”
Israel’s three-week offensive against Gaza — aimed at toppling the democratically-elected government of Hamas in the Palestinian territory — left nearly 1,300 Palestinians dead, more than half of them civilians, according to medical sources.
The Israeli assault led to the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
In his address, Larijani, who heads the Executive Committee of the union, said, “The gesture of change will give hope to Muslims should it actively recognizes the rights of the Palestinian people. Otherwise, it should not be expected that Muslims will be deceived by words.”
Pointed to failed policies of the US and NATO on military build-up in Afghanistan, Larijani said that their expedition resulted in an increase in cultivation of narcotics and the spread of terrorism.
“Security will not be established in Afghanistan through weakening its government. They (the US and NATO) should know that they cannot administer countries by their own agents who have little information about the region,” he concluded.
—–Agencies