Syria, Yemen Should Decide Own Fates: Iranian Diplomat

The political future of Syria and Yemen should be shaped by their own people, and nobody has the right to impose their “illegitimate demands” on the other nations by using force and bombarding innocent people, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi said.

He made the comments in a meeting with chair of the Norwegian parliament’s standing committee on foreign affairs and defense, Anniken Huitfeldt, held in Tehran on Wednesday.

Sarmadi reiterated that Iran calls for the territorial integrity, stability, security and national unity in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

His comments came while Yemen has come under deadly air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition since March 26. According to the spokesman of the Yemeni Army, attacks on the Arab country have killed more than 2,000 people, most of them civilians.

Syria, too, has been also gripped by civil war since March 2011. According to the United Nations, more than 220,000 people have been killed and one million wounded during the conflicts.

Elsewhere in the meeting, Sarmadi voiced Tehran’s preparedness to promote ties with Oslo in diverse fields, and highlighted the role of parliaments in contributing to stronger relations between the governments.

For her part, Huitfeldt stressed the need for more reciprocal visits by the parliamentary, political, economic and cultural delegations between Iran and Norway.

A Norwegian parliamentary delegation, led by Huitfeldt, has arrived in Iran at the invitation of chairman of the parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi.

Iran's parliament has in recent months intensified measures to strengthen ties with parliaments of the other countries, following President Hassan Rouhani's announcement that his administration will adopt the policy of constructive interaction with the world.