The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei touched upon bitter and painful developments in the West Asia region and the role played by some global powers in imposing instability and war on nations during a meeting with visiting Slovenian President Borut Pahor on Tuesday.

The Leader said, “The Islamic Republic has always called on independent countries to play an active role in countering pressure on nations and has asked them not to be silent and [simply a] bystander [in this regard].”
Ayatollah Khamenei opined that violent conflicts in countries located in the West Asia region and the creation of such terrorist groups as Daesh were results of intervention and imposition by some global powers, adding, “It is incumbent upon all countries to make an effort to quench the flames of these conflicts, and to the contrary of the propaganda launched by the hegemonic current, the Islamic Republic is actively and effectively pursing this goal, while not interfering in the [internal] affairs of other countries.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution then emphasized that the so-called US-led anti-Daesh coalition has not been successful in its purported mission and mentioned two viewpoints as possible reasons behind this failure. “According to the first viewpoint, Americans have no plan to eradicate Daesh just like the British did during the period of colonialism in India. They kept Kashmir [region] as a bone of contention as a result of which the two neighboring countries of India and Pakistan have been afflicted with differences and divides up to the present day. Similarly, [the Americans] want to act in such a way with regard to Daesh that this problem will remain unresolved in Iraq or Syria,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

The Leader said, “According to the second viewpoint, Americans are willing to resolve the issue of Daesh, but mechanisms [used to achieve this goal] are not such that they would be able to do this, which of course, the [final] result of both viewpoints has been the same up to the present time, and today Iraq and Syria in particular, are experiencing very bitter and difficult conditions.”

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the consequences of creating instability in West Asian countries, including the problems related to asylum seekers, and pointed out, “While European countries have not been able to offer refuge to a maximum of just a few tens of thousands of asylum seekers, Iran has been hosting about three million people from Afghanistan for many years and has provided them with [suitable] conditions to study and live [in the country] and has treated refugees in a humane way with complete lenience.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution then mentioned one year and eight months of incessant bombardment of the people of Yemen and the destruction of the country’s infrastructure by the Saudi government as another bitter development that is going on in the region these days and added, “Independent governments must counter such developments because putting pressure on a nation is, in fact, a [common] suffering and pain for the entire humanity.”

Ayatollah Khamenei continued by saying that Iran and Slovenia have many potentialities and capacities to boost cooperation, adding, “I hope the future would be a strong document to prove today’s talks.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also noted that Iran has completely fulfilled its obligations as per the nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group of countries, taking other parties to task for not fulfilling their obligations.

During the meeting, which was also attended by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Mr. Borut Pahor, the President of Slovenia, described his negotiations with Iranian officials as very good, saying, “We seek to deepen our relations with Iran in all fields.”

Pahor referred to Iran as the pillar of stability and security in the region and a country worthy of respect, and while lauding Iran's performance during the nuclear negotiations and the country’s advances in recent years, said, “Slovenia and Iran have common experiences and share numerous grounds for cooperation.”

The President of Slovenia then explained his plan to reopen the country’s embassy in Tehran during his current visit, adding, “Iran is a good friend of Slovenia and we regard reopening of [our] embassy in Iran a wise and rational step and a result of national decision and consensus.”