Abdollahian to Al-Ahed: West Bank Will Soon Become a Resistance Center Like Gaza

Tehran, Mokhtar Haddad

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, stressed that, "The most significant intelligence apparatus that played a role in founding and supporting the [the so-called] "Daesh" ["ISIL"] organization was the "Israeli" Mossad and there is a lot of evidence proving that."

"The leaders and members of that terrorist group are linked to an extremist ideology, which reveals itself as being related to Islam, whereas it completely opposes the Islamic religion and distorts its reputation," Abdollahian pointed out.

In an exclusive interview with al-Ahed news website, Abdollahian said that, "Some of the regional and international intelligence apparatuses came as a reverse engineering project in order to destroy the region."

He cited the fabricated "revolution" that is taking place in Syria, saying that, "Unlike the popular revolutions that took place in Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia, and Yemen with impulsive masses, we witnessed how the so-called "Syrian revolution" began first from the borders of the Daraa city and then immediately after, the foreign security service began to arm the opposition group and suggest sending weapons and foreign fighters."

"Daesh"

"These intelligence apparatuses are striving through "Daesh" to topple both the Syrian and Iraqi regimes and demolish the situation in Lebanon and the region," Abdollahian said.

"Concerning 'Daesh'", he said, "The same plan was implemented by the foreign intelligence services as they concluded that groups like Hizbullah, which are the source of pride and dignity in the Arab and Islamic worlds, hold revolutionary ideas and morals."
"So, these services thought that if they related "Daesh" to Sunni Muslims and revealed it as a revolutionary act that defends the interests of the Sunni people, only then would they be able to come up with a strong movement similar to that of Hizbullah. The only difference being is that this movement will be a tool used by these intelligence services," he said.

Referring to what the Great Ayatollah [Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, His Eminence] Sayyid Ali Khamenei, said concerning "Daesh" being defeated in Iraq and Syria, Abdollahian said that, "After the defeat of "Daesh", the Americans started to act as ‘heroes' in order to interfere in both the Iraqi and Syrian battles."

"The international coalition has not achieved any important and tangible results so far," he added.

Moreover, Abdollahian added that he had proclaimed something during the courageous resistance days of the Palestinian people in the last 51-day war in Gaza, which coincided with the widespread movement of "Daesh" in the Sunni provinces in Mosul, Iraq, and the regions close to Baghdad.

He had proclaimed that, "If "Daesh" considers itself a revolutionary movement that is in charge of defending the Sunni people in Iraq and Syria, then it should see how the Zionist entity is killing our Sunni brothers in the most hideous ways in the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, we, as the Islamic Republic of Iran, strongly support both the Shiite Hizbullah and the Sunni Hamas and Jihad. That is why "Daesh" should target its weapons towards Tel Aviv instead of directing them towards Muslims."

"But after this claim, they issued a statement that declared that fighting against "Israel" is not one of Daesh's priorities and neither does it have any place in their program," he noted.

Abdollahian also pointed out that these things reveal the strong relation between "Daesh" and the Zionist entity, and there is constant cooperation and coordination between the two in several places. "Daesh" also receives military and financial aid from "Israel", in addition to the constant visits inside the occupied lands, he added.
Additionally, he noted that there is no difference between al-Qaeda and "Daesh".

Iraq

Concerning Iran's support for Iraq in fighting terrorism, Abdollahian confirmed that, "Iran was the first country in less than five hours from the fall of Mosul to give all kind of support to Iraq in order to help Iraqis fight the terrorist takfiris and, in particular, the terrorist "Daesh" group as this was a humanitarian and Islamic responsibility.

"We frankly proclaim that we have offered all that we can in order to support Iraq in facing terrorism and will continue to do so," he further continued.

Regarding the implications of the visit of Haider al-Abadi, the Iraqi prime minister, to Iran, Abdollahian said that al-Abadi, through his visit, wanted to thank Iran for its support for Iraq in facing terrorism especially in the recent period.
Al-Abadi also wanted to confirm to Iran that the Tehran-Baghdad ties are strategic and that his country will hold on to them.

Moreover, al-Abadi noted the international coalition's procedures against terrorism and the significant role of Iran in facing them.
Abdollahian said that, "We have frankly confirmed to the Iraqi prime minister that Iran will not join any coalition led by America which goes beyond the frame of the United Nations. However, we will use all our strength to support the Iraqi people in order to overcome terrorism."

Lebanon

As for the Lebanese affairs, and concerning the Iranian military grant to the Lebanese army, Abdollahian said that, "We consider Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq to be significant elements in the resistance front in the region. And "Daesh" has been trying since its foundation to disassociate this resistance axis. That is why we have seen the procedures of these terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq and that are now trying to take any advantage to target Lebanon. However, the awareness of Hizbullah, the Lebanese army and the political and religious powers in Lebanon have failed all attempts so far."

Abdollahian added that, "Our support for the Lebanese army came as a result of the recent events in the region and we have declared our readiness to give all possible support. We also understand that some countries are demanding from the Lebanese authorities to reject this support. But we frankly announce that our support is for helping the Lebanese army and its defensive potentials face terrorism. We also deem that this is a good opportunity that the Lebanese can take advantage of.

Syria

With regards to the Syrian crisis and the visit of the UN envoy Staffan de Mistura to Tehran, Abdollahian said that, "We believe that the solution to the crises in the region need to be focused on the rooted political solutions and that there is no possibility of reaching a solution in Syria and Iraq through military procedures. Also, Iran stresses on adopting a military solution and resistance only in the case of fighting the Zionist entity."

Furthermore, Abdollahian reminded that Iran has introduced a project of 4 terms to the UN envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, that stresses on the importance of a peaceful solution in Syria.

"In our recent meetings with de Mistura in Tehran, we stressed on applying the peaceful Iranian projects," he said.

He also pointed out that de Mistura gave some political suggestions for solving the crisis but that they had not been clear. However, he did confirm the point of implementing a cease-fire in some of the Syrian regions.

Abdollahian, who called for waiting for the coming weeks until de Mistura's suggestions come out to the public, restated his country's support for political solutions that the United Nations has been suggesting to solve the Syrian crisis.

"We made recommendations to de Mistura, among them being that if he wants to succeed in his mission, he has to suggest realistic political solutions based on the opinions and orientations of the Syrian people," he stated.

Palestine

Concerning the recent developments in Occupied Palestine, Abdollahian stated that, "During the peak of the Islamic awakening movement and the events in Syria, the Zionist entity had thought that that was its best opportunity; however, we saw how it was defeated during the eight-day war in Gaza." 

"We also witnessed the resistance of the Palestinian people in the 51-day war in Gaza and how the Zionist entity withdrew in humiliation and great defeat," he added. 

He also stressed that, "The Zionist procedures in the recent days such as, the closure of the sacred Al-Aqsa mosque, reveals the depravity and weakness of the usurper entity. As a result of their weakness, they resort to killing women, children and victims." 

He ended by confirming that, "Palestine is moving towards control and its resistance is much more powerful than any recent time. And the world will soon see that the West Bank will become just like Gaza- a central point of resistance- and that is what the Palestinian people want. "