Tehran focal point of anti-terrorism negotiations :Daily

Tehran, Dec 18, IRNA - 'Tehran Times' on Thursday commented on the concurrent visits of Syrian PM Wael Nader al-Halqi, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri, and Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu in Tehran, calling it a noteworthy event, which is significant from many aspects. The prime angle of the outstanding event is the common inclination of these countries to boost bilateral relationship with the Islamic Republic, underscored the English-language paper in its Editorial. The diplomatic exchanges of visits among the officials of these countries, the ties between Tehran-Baghdad, Tehran-Damascus, and Tehran-Ankara have been enjoying a growing trend, it noted, citing as an example Iran-Turkey’s determination to boost the level of their annual trade to $30b by 2015. This itself is a proof of this significant issue, further highlighting the resolve of Iraq-Syria-Turkey to expand their bilateral ties with Iran. Another striking point is the four countries’ resolve to bring their stances closer to counter the common threat of terrorism in the region, it noted. Despite the fact that Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey share common views with regard to the campaign against terrorism, there are differences between Iran and Turkey, particularly over the Syrian crisis, it noted. Therefore, negotiations between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Turkish counterpart Cavusoglu is meant to bring the approaches of the two countries closer to one another. Such negotiations are also considered highly sensitive to enable Tehran and Ankara as two key regional players to accelerate their campaign against takfiri terrorists including ISIL with a common goal. Another noteworthy aspect is the necessity to expand the scope of negotiations to include Afghanistan and Pakistan. It seems that such a move would help embark on a joint regional campaign against Taliban so that the world would no longer witness the bitter and inhumane brutalities of Taliban like the recent school carnage in Pakistan’s Peshawar, it said. The Peshawar bloodbath is not only outrageous, but also a great contribution to the Islamophobic architects, and pains the hearts of the international community, the paper said. It also reminded the international community and international organizations that the madness of terrorism is not limited to borderlines and it does not differentiate kids from adults. Last but not the least, is the centrality and position of Iran in campaign against terrorism, highlighted the daily. Through hosting multiple international summits in the past months - such as the World Congress on Extremism and Takfiri Movements in the Islamic Scholars’ View, the Conference of Information Ministers of Islamic Countries and Foreign Diplomats with the motto of “media interaction for restoration of peace and tranquility to the Muslim world”, and the World against Violence and Extremism (WAVE) conference in Tehran in which foreign ministers and high-ranking officials from over 40 countries participated - the Islamic Republic demonstrated its firm resolve in the fight against the ominous phenomenon of terrorism, underscored the paper. In his address to the UN General Assembly in 2013, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani proposed an initiative entitled “World against Violence and Extremism (WAVE)”, which was later overwhelmingly adopted into a resolution by 193 votes. These all reaffirm Iran’s strategy in its campaign against terrorism, which focus foremost on the necessity to identify the roots of terrorism and counter its spread. In light of the above, the presence of top officials from Syria, Iraq, and Turkey in Tehran thus clearly shows their special attention to the position of the Islamic Republic in the region and the broader world. It also indicates Iran's key role in fight against terrorism and extremism, as well as Tehran’s efforts in institutionalizing regional peace and security; a role which is unavoidable despite media propaganda campaign of some Western and Arab states to distort the image of Iran. Indeed, Iran’s centrality for regional negotiations and its hosting of consecutive international summits against terrorism proves Iran’s firm determination in fighting this portentous phenomenon, it said. On the other hand, Iran’s role, position, and practical strategy is a clear message to those states with double standard and discriminatory approaches towards the issue of terrorism; states who were once overt supporters of terrorism, and now have formed a so-called coalition to stand against it. Getting this message, they can now revise their stands and fight against terrorism and its spread firmly and honestly, or else terrorists will sooner or later knock at their doors, the paper concluded./end