Iran says Palestine-Israel talks are fruitless

TEHRAN, Aug. 28 (MNA) – Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said on Thursday that talks between Israel and Palestine will be fruitless as Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas and the Zionist regime’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu are to hold direct talks in Washington on September 2.

Such talks will pave the way for the U.S. rather than Palestinians, Larijani told members of activist groups supporting the liberation of the holy Quds.

The U.S. is not concerned about Palestinians, rather it strives to support the illegal regime of Israel that the West created and now wants to guard its security, he observed.

Through arranging talks in Washington the United States is to gain dignity for itself, he stated.

The U.S. president wants to make some moves in the region so that he can claim he is pursuing a peace-favored policy in Middle East, he opined.

However, Larijani said, “We are sorry that some Palestinian groups (Fatah group) have welcomed” talks.

He also criticized certain Arab countries which have announced their support for talks.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Larijani said Iran is determined to continue supporting Palestinians despite mounting pressure on Tehran.

“We are determined to support the oppressed people of Palestine as our Islamic and religious duty and pressures would not halt our religious support.”

Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal has said the upcoming talks between PA and Israel are illegitimate and a result of U.S. coercion.

“These negotiations are taking place by force of coercion and with an American summons,” Meshaal told reporters in Damascus.