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Iran slams efforts to disturb Persian Gulf region

Iran Materials 19 May 2011 14:48 (UTC +04:00)
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has denounced efforts by foreign powers aimed at disturbing the Persian Gulf, urging regional states to improve collective cooperation.
Iran slams efforts to disturb Persian Gulf region

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has denounced efforts by foreign powers aimed at disturbing the Persian Gulf, urging regional states to improve collective cooperation, Press TV reported with reference to IRNA.

"The Persian Gulf is an important region. There is no need that we allow others to create a disturbance to regional countries and find pretexts to cause misunderstanding," Salehi told at the end of his day-long official visit to Kuwait on Wednesday.

"In a (recent) tour of the Persian Gulf states, I noticed that all countries are interested in collective cooperation with the purpose of improving relations and promoting security and stability because it will serve the interests of all sides," he added.

Salehi pointed to the ongoing developments in Bahrain and noted that all regional countries have consensus on a swift solution to the crisis in the Persian Gulf country and are presently cooperating with each other in this regard.

The top Iranian diplomat expressed optimism about the future of the region and hoped woes in crisis-hit Bahrain would be resolved in the near future.

Earlier this month, Salehi made a tour of regional countries, including Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq to confer with high-ranking officials of the four countries.

The Iranian minister assessed as "successful" the outcome of his visit to Kuwait, saying, "In talks with senior Kuwaiti officials, we discussed mutual issues very clearly."

He noted that Iranian and Kuwaiti officials discussed and removed certain misunderstanding between the two countries.

In 2010, Kuwait claimed that a number of its military officers have been gathering intelligence about US military bases in Kuwait and passing it on to Iran.

Late in April, Iran's Foreign Ministry expressed "dismay" over the remarks made by Kuwaiti officials, and dismissed the allegations as "irresponsible."

The defendants accused of being members of an espionage ring allegedly linked to Iran denied the charges brought against them in a Kuwaiti court last week, saying their confessions were made under torture.

During his stay in Kuwaiti City, Salehi held talks with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber Al Sabah, National Assembly speaker Jassim al-Kharafi, Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah and Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah.

In his talks with Kuwaiti premier, the Iranian foreign minister stressed the importance of strengthening stability and peace in the strategic Persian Gulf.

He said Iran's principled policy is based on non-interference in internal affairs of other countries and hoped other states would respect this important principle.

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