BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.8
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
Statements by the NATO Secretary General regarding the death of the Iranian general are contrary to international law, said official representative of Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Mousavi, Trend reports.
Mousavi said that in recent years, the function of this alliance, of which the United States is an active member, is to create instability.
Iranian diplomat said he regrets that NATO is using the general’s assassination as a tool.
Musavi said he believes that with the withdrawal of some forces, stability will be ensured in the region.
Earlier, referring to assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this is a US decision.
“It is not a decision taken by either the Global Coalition nor NATO. But all Allies are concerned about Iran’s destabilising activities in the region, Iran’s support to different terrorist groups. And of course, we are extremely concerned about the recent attacks we have seen against civilian energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, or against Coalition bases in Iraq – bases which are important for our efforts to fight international terrorism in Iraq and in Syria,” he said.
“The US provided the rationale behind the action against General Soleimani. And we had several briefers from the United States, from the State and from Pentagon and they briefed and explained to other Allies why they took this action against General Soleimani. I will not go into the details of that briefing. I will leave that to the United States. But we value and appreciate the briefings provided by the United States. I think this provides, or once again shows that NATO is a platform where European Allies, North American Allies, are able to come together and address security concerns for all of us,” noted Stoltenberg.