Respecting Minorities’ Rights Accepted Principle Of Iran: Diplomat

Tehran, Nov 4, IRNA – Deputy Foreign Ministry for Arab-African Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian said here Monday that respecting the rights of Iranˈs religious minorities is a principle which is completely supported and accepted by Tehran. Amirabolahian made the remarks in a meeting with the secretary general of the Assyrian Universal Alliance who is also the representative of Assyrians in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Younathan Betkolia. The meeting was held Monday morning before Amirabdollahian leave here to start a two-nation African tour. referring to Iran’s foreign policy in the Western Asia, the diplomat said that both Assyrians and Muslims enjoyed a common history and civilization in the Mesopotamia region. Touching upon the current terrorist acts against followers of various religious minorities in the region, he condemned recent terrorist attacks targeting the innocent Syrian people, Christian community and religious centers in Syria. Betkolia, for his part, appreciated Iran’s humanitarian assistance to Assyrian people in Western Asia, specially concerning the current situation in Syria and the past situation of Iraq./end