Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Israeli regime wishes to launch an attack against Iran but fears the possible consequences of such a move.
Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that the Tel Aviv regime had been created to wage wars in the region, adding, “They wish to attack Iran but dread its consequences.”
“The countries that helped the creation of the Zionist regime have come to the conclusion that this entity cannot carry out the defined missions. Therefore, they are changing its behavior, which means the end of the idea of occupation and Zionism. Zionists have figured it out and seek to change their situation through measures like attacking Syria but they cannot invade Iran.”
Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with the editors-in-chief of Egyptian media in Cairo on Tuesday night. The Iranian president is on a visit to Egypt to attend the 12th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Regarding the unrest in Syria, Ahmadinejad said the Syrian nation and government should resolve the issue through dialog. The Iranian president also rejected any military solution to the crisis.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ahmadinejad said Iran was the guardian of security in the Persian Gulf, but Western countries were after division in the region to protect their own interests. He said the West sought to control the Middle East for the region’s rich resources of energy.
Ahmadinejad said, however, that Western states would fail to achieve their objectives if Iran and regional countries further boosted cooperation.

Call For Muslim Unity

Sheikh of Egypt’s Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb says Tehran and Cairo can join hands to foil the Western plots of sowing discord among Muslims.
The top Egyptian cleric said in a meeting with President Ahmadinejad in Cairo on Tuesday, “We respect you as someone who, apart from his political responsibilities, tries to help the realization of unity among Muslims.”
Tayyeb also stated that Al-Azhar scholars make every effort to eradicate discord among Muslims, and to fight Islamophobia and enmity toward Shia Muslims.
Tayyeb added that discrepancies should not create tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims. He once again hailed the fatwa issued by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in 2010 that prohibits insulting the companions of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and his wives.

US Talks Offer

In yet another meeting, President Ahmadinejad said the Islamic Republic will study the US proposal for direct talks provided that Washington makes positive changes in its behavior.
“Remarks by US officials are new and positive and we hope that positive changes are made in their behavior too. If we witness positive changes in their behavior, then we will study it (the proposal) with a positive attitude,” Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with the editors-in-chief of Egyptian media in Cairo on Tuesday night.
His comments came in response to a question about US Vice President Joe Biden’s offer of direct talks with the Islamic Republic.
Speaking at the 49th annual Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 2, Biden said Washington was ready to hold direct talks with Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program.
The United States, the Israeli regime and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Rights of Palestinians
President Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that supporting the rights of the Palestinian nation is a major strategy of Iran.
He made the remarks in a meeting with the Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas which took place at the sideline of the 12th Summit of Organization of the Islamic Cooperation.
Expressing happiness over the United Nations recognition of Palestine as member of the United Nations, he said the Zionist regime was already objecting to such a recognition.
He said he was confident that nations are to meet a better destiny if they continue with resistance to the bullying powers, calling for supporting Palestinian nation.
He said enemies have been benefiting from disagreements within the Palestinian nation but there is high hope that efforts underway to create unity among them will be fruitful.
Abbas appreciated Iran’s supports for the Palestinian nation and said Iranian brothers have always stood by the oppressed nation of Palestine.
Pointing to West’s pressures and the negative attitudes of a number of Western and Arab governments towards membership of Palestine in the United Nations, he said Palestinians will safeguard their achievement which he said is a big one.
Referring to his efforts to establish unity and reconciliation among Palestinian groups, he noted that the Palestinian youth are as before seeking new ways to continue with resistance movement.
On Tuesday, the Iranian president began a historic visit to Egypt to attend the 12th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Ahmadinejad was received by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi upon his arrival at Cairo International Airport. He is the first Iranian head of state to visit Egypt in 34 years.
Iran severed its diplomatic ties with Egypt in 1980, after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, because Egypt signed the Camp David Accords with the Israeli regime and offered asylum to former Iranian dictator Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Morsi also visited Iran in August 2012 to attend a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. It was the first visit of an Egyptian president to Iran in more than three decades.

Source: kayhanintl