Presidential aide warns against ethnic confrontations

Ahvaz, Nov 26, IRNA – Enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran seek to make ethnic groups in the country stand against each other, says President Hassan Rouhani's aide in religious minorities' affairs. Ali Younesi made the comments Friday evening in a meeting with political and social activists of the Bakhtiari ethnic group in the southwestern province of Khuzestan. 'We should never replace national feelings with ethnic feelings,' Younesi said. While ethnic diversity is going to be an opportunity for the country to capitalize on, the enemies seek to put ethnic groups in Iran against each other, he said. 'All the wars and conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan are the result of provoking ethnic differences that have left many Muslims killed,' he said. The presidential aide in religious minorities' affairs also said that the Islamic Republic of Iran places great emphasis on safeguarding the country's security and national unity. But we remain to defend legitimate rights and demands of the country's ethnic groups, Younesi said. 'Iran enjoys an everlasting and unchanging religious, cultural and historical identity that nobody could change,' he concluded. 1378/IRNA