Zarif: End of Malignant US Presence in West Asia Begun

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated on Tuesday that the end of the US malignant presence in West Asia has begun.

Zarif made the remarks in his inaugural address to “Tehran Dialogue Forum” with Iran’s neighbors in attendance.

Zarif stressed that the Forum will "engage in the synergistic exchange of views towards exploring practical ways out of the perilous situation dominated by the paradigm of aggression, extremism, and violence. I would like to share with you, as thinkers and peace-lovers, a number of reflections and ideas."

The Iranian foreign minister further noted that "before turning to the substance of my remarks on the situation before us, let me say, it is indeed difficult for me to address this noble Forum just four days after having lost, to the criminal and murderous state terrorism of the United States, a courageous, wise, rational, and visionary friend and colleague of mine, Martyr General Qassem Soleimani.

“A great man who embarked on a life-long struggle to make the world a better and safer place for us has now departed for the Heavens: slain at the hands of the most vicious people. The Iranian people, along with every other independence-seeking and anti-colonialist individual in the region is mourning this huge loss. The United States' terrorist assassination of one of the Iranian top military commanders has in fact opened the gates to an ugly course of action which might, sooner or later, come to haunt itself across the globe.

The US has proved, once again, to everybody, its total, blatant disregard for the Jus Cogens in international law as well as for universally-recognized rights and immunities. This is the same schizophrenic approach that repugnantly threatens, in contravention of international law, to strike Iran’s cultural sites which are part of the shared human cultural and civilizational heritage.

Martyr General Qassem Soleimani represented the voice of independence-seeking struggles of a region that has been afflicted with the unfortunate accumulation of multi-layered problems and difficulties emanating from the insatiable lust of international masters of money and might and their foolish, opportunistic allies. What transpired at the early hours of January 3rd was not a mere attack on Iraq’s national sovereignty or just the cowardly, brutal assassination of a proud Iranian general. In fact, one of the pillars of striving for security in this area, fraught with various plots, was targeted. Terroristic, extremist groups, from Al-Qaeda to ISIS and Al-Nusra Front – the very brainchildren of the US and its regional servants – are those who view commanders like Soleimani as their greatest enemy.

It comes as no surprise that the unmannered and tactless US President committed a strategic blunder, driven by folly and arrogance, in ordering the assassination of the great conqueror of battles against terrorism and extremism, and the most successful “peace-making general” of the region in recent decades. This time, though, he has made a huge gamble, and must know that the Divine promise is true; that the righteousness will be the ultimate victor, and that “Allah is dominant in His affairs.”

He further said "one the most important problems in the region surrounding us comes from the misconceptions and miscalculations that have profoundly impacted the regional equations. I have frequently stressed that this cognitive disorder and the miscalculations emanating from it constitute one of the most endemic roots of the current crisis in the region.

The US has demonstrated, for the umpteenth time, how it can take dangerous steps, emanating from its miscalculations and misperceptions of the domestic situation in Iran and of the region, to wreak insecurity in the world and, ultimately in their own country. The depth of grief and bereavement among the nations in the region and the Muslim world at large, and in particular the unprecedented popular funeral processions held in both Iraq and Iran for Martyr General Soleimani and his life-long comrades, including Martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, are telling signs of the profundity of the US erroneous perceptions and calculations vis-à-vis Iran and the region. Just note the statistics: the US foreign policy expenditures in West Asia under the current administration has increased by 1 trillion USD, reaching a total of 8 trillion USD. The figure, however, does not reflect at all the incalculable value of the bloods shed and the innocent lives perished due to such miscalculations.

It is a fact of history that many US presidents, and now Donald Trump, have set on fire a region and even the entire world for the short-sighted goals in their domestic policies. It is unfortunate that nowadays we are facing the biggest historical lie ever; that the US, notwithstanding a long trail of massacres and bloodshed, pretends to pursue the collective good and peace and security in the region and in the world.

Our region has been embroiled in endless wars, extremism and violence caused by the US continuous aggressions as well as by the conflicts in recent years. Resort to war, considered an exception in international relations, has, unfortunately, become a norm and rule in the region due to the attitude and conduct of the US and its followers. This is a vicious circle that must be broken by the regional actors and all those committed to peace, quiet, and stability.

Unfortunately, cognitive dissonance and miscalculations are not peculiar to the US only. Some of the US allies and like-minded states in the region, due to their absolute dependence on foreigners and purchasing legitimacy and security from without, have also adopted and pursued the same wrong, calamitous path; a path that has led to divisions and conflicts more visible today than ever before – from battle of norms to the clash of strategies.

What is more deplorable is that these ongoing regional divisions and conflicts have in fact created the breathing space for malignant forces within and without the region to strengthen and expand their illegitimate and illegal military presence in the region through fabricating trumped-up threats and artificial securitization scenarios. The most important and visible consequence of such ploys is to be seen in the endless pain and suffering the oppressed nations in the region continue to endure; from Afghanistan and Iraq to Syria and Libya. The other side of these devastating and incendiary policies concerns the sale of destructive arms to the region, in the order of hundreds of billions of dollars, equal to one-fourth of the total global arms sales."