Iran Declares Support For Palestinian Unity

Tehran, Jan 28, IRNA – Unity of Palestinian groups can pave the way for realization of their rights, Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab-African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Sunday. He made the remarks in a meeting with Chairman of the Palestinian National Council Salim al-Zanon. “Iran supports all Palestinians’ rights, including their right for returning to the occupied lands. Tehran supports Palestinian groups’ reconciliation talks.” Chairman of the Palestinian National Council, for his part, praised Iran’s support for Palestinians and the reconciliation talks among various Palestinian groups and noted that recent remarks by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about his preparedness for having an official visit to Tehran showed his interest for development of relations with Tehran despite the current blockades impeding expansion of relations between the two sides. In May 2011, thirteen Palestinian groups, including Fatah and Hamas, signed a landmark unity deal which ended their long-running division. Pointing to the recent general elections in the occupied lands, chairman of the Palestinian National Council noted that “there is no difference between various political factions in Zionist regime with regard to their policies towards Palestine and all of them believe in continuation of occupation of the Palestinian lands.” Meantime, Amir Abdollahian conferred with Chairman of Jordan’s Senate Taher al-Masri on Sunday. Amir Abdollahian is on an official visit to Jordan and he has already met with several Jordanian officials in the Capital Amman. Amir Abdollahian and al-Masri discussed the ways for expansion of bilateral ties and also the regional issues. The Islamic Republic of Iran is a powerful and important country, both from political and economic angles, and the bilateral relations between the two countries should be expanded in all fields, al-Masri said. The Iranian deputy foreign minister also met the Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judet on Sunday. The two sides discussed bilateral relations and regional developments./end