Iran's neighbors after reopening borders for trade exchanges

Tehran, May 4, IRNA - Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated here on Monday that the will of the neighbors is to keep borders open for more trade exchanges. Abbas Mousavi made the remarks at his weekly press briefing through a video conference from Tehran. Some borders are closed due to cautiousness about dealing with the coronavirus pandemic; however, Iran's three joint borders with the Iraqi Kurdistan region are open and trade exchanges are underway there, Mousavi said. Trade exchanges are going on while the health protocols are met, the official added. He further said Iran follows measures on which it has reached an agreement with neighboring countries to continue economic exchanges along borders. Based on mutual agreements, borders are open at the times set before, Mousavi underlined. The deadly coronavirus radiating from Wuhan, China, in December 2019 has affected over 3,560,000 people across the world and killed near 240,000. Elsewhere in his remarks, Mousavi responded to the question of chemical weapons with which the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had been supplied by Germany, and said German support for the then Iraqi president during the imposed war against Iran is clear and already proven. Iran has complained about the issue and is waiting for trial for those who are guilty of it, said Mousavi while stressing that the German government should officially apologize to both Iranian and Iraqi nations and governments. Iraq’s eight years of the imposed war claimed the lives of 230,000 Iranian soldiers and left nearly 600,000 as war-disabled. While almost 43,000 Iranians were captured by the Iraqi forces and many others gone missing. The spokesman, elsewhere, spoke about the US presence in the region and said such presence is an obstacle to regional security. About the escalation of tension between Iran and the US in the southern Iranian strategic region of the Persian Gulf and any possible emergency contact between the two, Mousavi said Iran does not officially recognize the US military presence in the region. Iran sees such presence as an obstacle to regional and national security and stability, he stressed. He went on to say that the US should avoid getting close to the Iranian border areas. Radio communications are established between the Iranian and American ships, but there is no military emergency contact line between the two sides' military and political officials, he added. If needed, there are many ways to warn the other side, said Mousavi, adding that Iran has close contact with the Swiss Embassy in Tehran which represents the US interests; Iran's permanent mission is also active in the UN in New York to take due measures in serious situations. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish