Rouhani:

Sectarianism 'a disruptive blight to regional security'

TEHRAN (defapress) – President Hassan Rouhani denounced sectarianism as a blight disruptive to the security in the region while underlining cooperation with Persian Gulf states as a principle for Iran's foreign policy.

News ID: 65106

Date: 28 May 2017 - 15:24

"Tehran attaches great significance to the expansion of relations with its neighboring countries, particularly Qatarin," Rouhani said in a phone call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani adding,"we believe that we can remove the existing obstacles and strengthen brotherly bonds through firm determination."

He underlined that regional countries need cooperation and consultations to solve the crises in the region and Iran is ready to cooperate in the field.

"Iran wants the Muslim world, at the moment suffering from divisions, to take steps toward peace and brotherhood and is ready to negotiate with the aim of reaching real agreements," he noted.

The Iranian president also pointed to the spread of a major scourge called terrorism in the region, saying the Middle East is faced with a big challenge that could be threatening to the security of all, to which cooperation is the only way to fight.

Qatari Emir, for his part, felicitated Rouhani on his landslide reelection victory and the onset of holy month of Ramadan, calling for further expansion of bilateral relations.

"Our relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran has a long and strong history and there is no obstacle in the way of bolstering Tehran-Doha ties," Sheikh Tamim said.

He also expressed confidence that dialogue would be the sole solution to the regional issues.