Iran says Britain’s policies behind Middle East instability

EghtesadOnline: Iran says the crises in the Middle East region are largely due to the "colonial" policies of the UK and its allies.

News ID: ۷۴۰۷۸۴

06 April 2017

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi made the comments on Wednesday in response to remarks made by British Prime Minister Theresa May during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

During an interview with al-Riyadh newspaper, May claimed that Iran was creating tensions and insecurity in the region by interfering in the affairs of Arab nations, according to PressTV.

While noting that this was not the first time May had made such baseless claims, Qassemi stressed that Iran’s regional policies are undoubtedly aimed at establishing stability and battling terrorism in the region.

"It is know to all that Iran has played a significant role in supporting security, stability and peace in the countries that have been attacked by terrorists and have requested aid from the Islamic Republic," he said.

He added that the UK and some of its close allies in the region were "probably not pleased with" the recent gains made against terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, and would prefer a Middle East "beset with prolonged insecurity and instability."

Qassemi also noted that May’s claims against Iran are made at a time when Britain has supplied millions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, which has been waging a deadly war on Yemen.

“The sales of weapons and equipment to aggressors for the killing of innocent civilians in the region, especially in the inhuman and unequal war against Yemen, have no correlation with May’s claims [against Iran],” he added.

Saudi Arabia -- backed by a number of African and Persian Gulf Arab states -- launched the massive aggression against neighboring Yemen on March 26, 2015, in an attempt to reinstate former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a close ally of the despotic kingdom, and to crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement. The offensive has so far left over 12,000 Yemeni civilians dead, according to the latest tallies.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman went on to stress that May's remarks were made to gain satisfaction and financial support from certain countries in the region.