Araqchi, who is in The Hague to attend the 30th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), met with van Weel on Tuesday.

In their talks, the two senior diplomats reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and international developments.

Building on the recent visit of a senior Dutch Foreign Ministry official to Tehran, both sides emphasized that reviving structured political and consular consultations would mark a significant step forward in expanding ties between the two countries.

Pointing to the rapidly evolving global landscape and the growing influence of confrontational unilateralism on international relations, Araqchi underlined the responsibility of all governments to safeguard the rule of law and to refrain from supporting --or remaining indifferent to-- law-breaking and coercive conduct on the world stage.

The Iranian foreign minister also highlighted the suffering endured by the Iranian victims of chemical weapons used by Saddam Hussein’s regime, including in the city of Sardasht.

Araqchi stressed the responsibility of the European states that directly or indirectly aided Iraq’s chemical weapons program, naming the Netherlands and Germany among them. He also called for serious cooperation from these countries to ensure independent judicial investigations into the natural and legal persons involved in the former Iraqi regime’s chemical war crimes against the Iranian people.