Zarif Hits Back at Tillerson: Anti-Daesh Fighters Wait Nobody’s Order
Local Editor
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said those forces who are fighting against Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ‘ISIS/ISIL'] terrorists have never been waiting for anybody's order to defend their homeland.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the 13th meeting of Iran-South Africa Joint Commission in Pretoria on Monday, Zarif made the remarks in reaction to earlier comments by US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson in Saudi capital Riyadh.
Tillerson was speaking at a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Sunday. He claimed that "Iranian militias" in Iraq should leave the country now that the fight against Daesh was coming to a close.
"Iranian militias that are in Iraq, now that the fight against Daesh and ISIS is coming to a close, those militias need to go home. The foreign fighters in Iraq need to go home and allow the Iraqi people to regain control," the US state secretary said.
Hitting back at Tillerson, Zarif noted that the anti-Daesh fighters "are already in their homes and have not been waiting and will not wait for anybody's order," adding, "If they had waited for orders from Tillerson and US government, today, we would have had Daesh in Baghdad and Erbil."
Zarif further emphasized that the anti-Daesh fighters have only acted in line with orders from religious authorities and defended their own homeland.
"Unlike the US that sees its interests in division and discord, the Islamic Republic of Iran sees its interests in cooperation and collaboration with regional countries," Zarif said.
Zarif also put a relevant post on his Twitter account on Monday, in which he reiterated Iran's policy to meet its interests through positive collaboration with regional states.
Earlier on Sunday, Zarif minister also slammed Tillerson's remarks, saying they had been uttered under the influence of petrodollars of certain states.
"Exactly what country is it that Iraqis, who rose up to defend their homes against Daesh, [should] return to?" Zarif said in a tweet late on Sunday. "Shameful US FP [foreign policy], dictated by petrodollars," he added in his tweet.
Upon his arrival in the South African capital on Sunday, Zarif also denounced the policies of US President Donald Trump's administration as "isolated in the world."
"Unfortunately, the Americans do not want to rectify their viewpoint that Iran is a source of stability and peace as well as a campaigner against terrorism in the region," he said.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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