Zarif's Protest Against the Draft Statement of the Islamic Cooperation Organization Summit

Iranian news agencies report that the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic strongly protested on Wednesday against "four anti-Iranian clauses and one clause against Hezbollah Lebanon" in the draft declaration of the Islamic Cooperation Organization summit, but the Saudi delegation, along with several countries, "prevented the discussion of these clauses." Iranian news agencies, including the state news agency IRNA, reported on Wednesday, April 25, citing "informed sources," that Mohammad Javad Zarif considered the "four anti-Iranian clauses and one clause against Hezbollah Lebanon" in the draft declaration of the summit of Islamic countries to be "against the spirit of Islamic solidarity and in line with the interests of" Israel. According to this report, however, the Saudi delegation, along with several countries, "prevented the discussion of these clauses" of the Islamic Cooperation Organization summit declaration. The draft declaration was prepared during a meeting of senior experts from member countries of the Islamic Cooperation Organization in Jeddah last Esfand (March) and the Iranian delegation was unable to attend this meeting due to visa issues from the Saudi government. IRNA emphasized that "the approval of anti-Iranian and anti-Hezbollah clauses indicates the instrumental exploitation of the Islamic Cooperation Organization by Saudi Arabia and some allied countries for their destructive political goals." According to this report, the Iranian Foreign Minister stated at the summit that condemning Hezbollah Lebanon "will only please" Israel. Previously, the Gulf Cooperation Council had also listed Hezbollah Lebanon, which is supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran, among its terrorist groups. This action followed attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran and the severance of relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Minister said that "problems and disputes between countries should be resolved through bilateral dialogues, not by bringing bilateral issues to multilateral meetings." The Islamic Cooperation Organization summit is held every three years, and more than 30 leaders and senior officials from predominantly Muslim countries are expected to attend this year's gathering in Turkey on Thursday and Friday. The issues of Syria and Yemen are among the topics to be discussed at the upcoming summit. Iran is one of the main supporters of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while most Arab countries and Turkey oppose Mr. Assad. In Yemen, there are deep disagreements between Tehran and Riyadh and their allies. Iran is accused of supporting the Houthi rebels and is opposed to Saudi military intervention in Yemen. The crises in Libya, Afghanistan, and recent tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan are other issues that the leaders of predominantly Muslim countries in the Islamic Conference Organization will address. Meanwhile, the President of Iran stated before his trip to Istanbul that "today in the Islamic world, we are facing the problem of terrorism, extremism, and sectarianism, and unfortunately, the aggression of some countries against others." Hassan Rouhani emphasized that Iran has helped Iraq and Syria in the fight against "terrorism." The Iranian President arrived in Istanbul on Wednesday night to participate in the Islamic Cooperation Organization summit, where he was welcomed by Turkey's Minister of Economy, Mustafa Elitas. Before Mr. Rouhani's departure to Turkey, King Salman of Saudi Arabia had traveled to that country with a 300-member delegation. The Hurriyet newspaper reported that Ankara had been preparing to host the Saudi king for a week. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally went to welcome King Salman.