Terrorism, Zionism 2 sides of same coin: Larijani

TEHRAN, Jan. 24 (MNA) – Iran’s Parliament speaker said the recent Israeli terrorist attack in Syria revealed terrorism and Zionism are two sides of the same coin. Ali Larijani made the remarks at a Thursday press conference on the sidelines of the 10th Summit of Inter-Parliamentary Union of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (PUOIC) in Istanbul, Turkey. He also condemned the desecration of Islam's Prophet Mohammad by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, saying that some circles in the Western countries were seeking to promote Islamophobia. “Insulting the Prophet of Islam is a shame for the West as insulting is a crime,” Larijani said, adding sacrilege was a red line for Muslims. While stressing Iran has always supported democracy in the region, Larijani maintained that all people in any country had a right to make their own decisions. He made particular references to Syria and the recent developments in Yemen and said, “the Houthis comprise a large part of Yemeni people and one cannot be indifferent to their demands. The Islamic Republic is not after building an empire in the region; rather it fully supports national talks in Iraq, Syria and Yemen and believes that these countries' issues could only be solved through national talks.” On Iran and Turkey’s different positions in regard to Syrian developments, Larijani stressed that negotiations between the two countries were ongoing; “the issue will be further negotiated during the upcoming visit of Turkish President Erdoğan to Iran.”