Iran said on Friday that “biased” French policy was stoking crises in the Middle East after Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused it of “hegemonic” ambitions in the region.
“Unfortunately it seems that France has a biased and partisan approach to the crises in the region and this approach, whether intentionally or not, is even contributing to turning potential crises into real ones,” foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said.
Le Drian made his comments in Saudi Arabia on Thursday during a visit aimed at resolving a crisis sparked by the shock resignation earlier this month of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
“The concerns you express fly in the face of regional realities and are addressed to the wrong side,” Qassemi said in response to Le Drian’s comments.
“Ignoring regional realities and echoing baseless concerns that have been pulled out of the air by deluded, warmongering Saudi officials and are aggressive towards Iran do not contribute towards settling the crises in the region in which Saudi Arabia clearly plays a destructive role.”
Qassemi urged the international community to focus instead on “arms sales by some foreign powers to regional countries, which are used in particular in the devastating war in Yemen, and the support being given to Saudi Arabia and its allies, which only makes them more brazen.”
Source: AFP
