Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged
neighboring countries to choose peace, security, stability and prosperity for
all instead of remaining prisoners of the past and perpetuate instability and
tension in the region.
Zarif made the remarks in an address to a virtual debate of
the United Nations Security Council under the title “Maintenance of
International Peace and Security: Comprehensive Review of the Situation in the Persian
Gulf.”
Pointing to the Hormuz Peace Endeavor—or HOPE—that was
proposed by President Rouhani in his address to the UN General Assembly last
year, Zarif said Iran stands by that initiative which is the culmination of
various Iranian proposals for security and confidence building in the Persian
Gulf region.
He said in the past couple of decades, the region has been
the scene of several wars, massive foreign military buildups, ensuing nightmare
of extremism and terrorism, dangerous accumulation of the most sophisticated
weaponry, and aggression and power projection by various actors.
The foreign minister added, “The disparities in power,
geographic size, and natural and human resources are very real. Historical
anxieties and rivalries among many regional countries cannot be
overlooked.”
“We know that most of our neighbors prefer peace and
dialogue, but it cannot be achieved if one or two pursue confrontation and
wishfully wait for alien vampires to ‘cut their neighbor’s head’. That delusion
will never be realized.”
He named three flawed prescriptions that have caused
catastrophic consequences, saying, “First, that you can purchase security from
others: Be it from Saddam Hussein invading Iran on some of our neighbor’s
behalf; or from the US coming to rescue our neighbors from the monster that they
had together created; or through unprecedented purchase of military hardware.”
According to Zarif, the second flawed prescription is, “you
can have security at the expense of the insecurity of your neighbors: Be it
Iran, Kuwait or Qatar at one time or another.”
The third, he continued, “you can establish regional
hegemony: Be it in Yemen, North Africa or the Horn of Africa.”
He condemned extra-regional actors for looking at the
regional disparities, unending rivalries and new hegemonic illusions as
opportunities to expand their military presence and to sell more weapons.
The United States has deployed nearly 50,000 troops in the
Persian Gulf region in 29 military installations with more than 300 combat
aircraft, he said, adding, “The US has at least one aircraft carrier patrolling
our waters at any given time, as well as tens of destroyers and other vessels
with four Central Command Headquarters for its Army and its Special Forces, Air
Force and Navy.”
Zarif also voiced Tehran’s appreciation to the overwhelming
majority of Security Council members for rejecting US efforts to kill the JCPOA
and Security Council Resolution 2231.
Iran does not intend to engage in any arms race in the
region and start a buying spree in spite of the end of Security Council
restrictions, the foreign minister highlighted.
Zarif called on regional countries to envisage a broad
spectrum of cooperation and confidence building measures that include water
management, environmental protection, nuclear safety, energy security,
education, tourism, economic cooperation, trade, investment, poverty
eradication and people empowerment.
“We all have
anxieties and grievances. Certainly, Iranians will never forget 8 years of an
imposed war: the aggressor fully financed by our neighbors,” Zarif reminded the
regional countries.
“We can choose to remain prisoners of the past and
perpetuate instability and tension. Or, all of us—and I stress all—can choose
peace, security, stability and prosperity for all. The choice, surely, should
be obvious to everyone,” he concluded.