Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Tehran wants to deepen political and economic cooperation with Muslim countries, particularly its neighbors, while continuing to resist what it describes as unlawful attacks by the United States.
Speaking at the 40th International Islamic Unity Conference on Friday (August 28), Araghchi highlighted Iran’s relations with Egypt and Lebanon.
Araghchi said Iran is ready to normalize diplomatic relations with Egypt whenever Cairo is prepared to take such a decision.
“We want good relations with Egypt. Whenever our friends in Egypt reach a decision to establish relations with us, we are also ready,” he said.
Regarding Lebanon, Araghchi said Iran was prepared to maintain relations with the Lebanese government and all political factions. However, he questioned some policies pursued by Lebanese leaders, saying the country’s Foreign Ministry needed to demonstrate greater “reasonableness,” without specifying the issues he was referring to.
Araghchi also addressed the presence of US military bases and infrastructure in Arab countries. He said Iran had never targeted neighboring or Muslim countries, but had instead targeted US facilities located there. According to him, those countries had been warned in advance about such actions.
Tensions between Iran and several Arab countries have increased following the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran in February, according to the report.
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