Hezbollah will win: Asefi
Speaking to reporters during his weekly press conference here on Sunday, Asefi honored the memory of the Iranian diplomats and IRNA reporter who were martyred in Mazar Sharif, Afghanistan 8 years ago and reminded that terrorism is still developing in the region.
Citing the present conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan as clear instances of the expansion of terrorism in the region, he lashed out at the west, the U.S. in particular, for their selective treatment of the issue.
Noting the ongoing crisis in Lebanon, he said the United States and Israel are in charge of the present conditions in that country and stated that Iran is seeking to soothe tensions and that Tehran is utilizing all its potentials and possibilities to end Israeli sponsored bloodshed in Lebanon.
He pointed to the extraordinary meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia and its important approvals as just one of the measures adopted by Iran in this regard, and reminded, "The meeting, which was held at the request of the Islamic Republic, resulted in the OIC's solidarity with the Lebanese government."
He added that the member states also extended full support for Lebanon and stressed the need for an active role of the UN Security Council to end the Israeli invasion. Asefi further pointed to Iran's exchange of views with different western, Arab and Islamic states on the ongoing crisis in Lebanon and said that the U.S. and Israel as well as the UN Security Council must be blamed for the current problem in Lebanon, "because Washington and the UNSC are just extending support to the Israeli regime and do not heed the Lebanese."
Asked about a UN resolution on Lebanon drafted by France and the US, he stressed that the Lebanese must approve of it before it can be passed by the Security Council members and that the resolution must touch the root causes of the ongoing crisis in the Middle-East.
The Foreign Ministry Spokesman further warned that any UNSC resolution must be centered on solving the problem rather than switching the pressure of the public opinion from the U.S., Israel and some western countries to the Lebanese government.
He also criticized the international bodies for keeping silent in the face of the Israeli crimes and stressed that different countries must enhance their solidarity and utilize the different legal tools and instruments that are stipulated in such treaties as the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in a bid to pressurize the UN to put an end to the Zionists' bloodshed in Lebanon.
Asked if the invasion of Lebanon has been devised by the Israeli regime in a bid to divert world attention from Israel's aggressions in Palestine, he said that Zionists' moves, including both the invasion of Lebanon and their crimes in Palestine, have all been preplanned, adding that the Palestinians are paying the price for their free elections and democratic votes.
Asefi warned that the United Nations and the Security Council should be claimed responsible for every incident in Lebanon and Palestine and called on the UN and other international bodies to take action to release the Palestinian Parliament speaker and other officials arrested by the Israeli regime and do not let Tel Aviv to go on with its crimes and violation of the international rules and regulations. As regards the country's nuclear case, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman condemned the UNSC resolution 1696 on Iran's nuclear activities and stressed that it lacked legality, "because this resolution does not recognize Iran's nuclear rights."
"It was Europe which dropped the course of negotiations and took Iran's nuclear case to the Security Council all of a sudden," Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters during his weekly press conference here on Sunday.
Meantime, Asefi reiterated that his country has always welcomed negotiations as a means of resolving the issue.
He said the EU and some other western countries led by the US have acted too hastily.
Asked about a uranium cargo which is said to have been seized by the customs officials of Tanzania, he said that the issue was not related to Iran and dismissed alleged reports that the final destination of the cargo has been the Iranian southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
Also asked to comment on the Israelis' threats that in case Hezbollah hits Tel Aviv, Israel would pound Tehran, he stressed that the Zionist regime is confused and trapped in a state of paralysis.
"If the Zionist regime had known that this war would take any longer than one month, it wouldn't have dared to commit such a mistake," he underscored. He said that the western countries and the Security Council have done everything to buy the Zionists more time and opportunity to finally gain the upper hand in the conflict, adding, "But the more time passed, the more it became clear that Hezbollah will be the winner of this war."
"Don't hesitate, Hezbollah's victory is something inevitable," Asefi said, adding that even the Israeli papers have cited that the final victory would be for Hezbollah.