Iran Raps Arab League Statement, Reaffirms Right to Combat Threats

The Iranian Foreign Ministry dismissed a statement from the Arab League which has condemned Iran’s recent missile strikes on Erbil in Iraq, stressing that the Islamic Republic has no qualms about protecting its national security.

In a statement released on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani deplored the Arab League’s recent statement and rejected its contents.

After an emergency virtual ministerial meeting on Wednesday, the Arab League adopted a resolution condemning Iranian strikes on targets in Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, head of the Arab League, has described the attacks as a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

In response, Kanaani emphasized that Iran has taken action “on the basis of the legitimate right to counter the terrorist elements affiliated with the Zionist regime in Iraq’s Erbil who had posed threats and risks to the national security of Iran and its citizens.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not hesitate about taking deterrent action against the sources of threat to its national security, defending the security of its citizens, and punishing the criminals,” the spokesman underlined.

He also reaffirmed that respect for Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the policy of good neighborliness with the Arab country account for Iran’s principled and proven policies.

The spokesman cited Iran’s responsible approach to protecting the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq from the outset of rebellion by Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorists and other Takfiri groups against the Arab country, recalling how Iran stood by the Iraqi government, nation and armed forces with great strength.

He then said the Iraqi government is expected to honor the security agreement signed between Tehran and Baghdad in the last year and carry out its commitments in full.

Highlighting the “robust and inclusive relations between Iran and Iraq that are founded upon mutual interests and expediencies as well as inseparable bonds between the two nations”, Kanaani said, “The Arab League, therefore, is expected to focus its efforts and political, legal and international power on stopping the Zionist regime’s brutal attacks and genocide in the Gaza Strip, ending 75 years of occupation of the Palestinian territories, and supporting its oppressed nation.”