( Irna ) - Iran supports establishment of a Palestinian state with the Holy Qods as its capital, said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in a televised interview with the Arab-language news channel Al-Jazeera broadcast Sunday evening.
Mottaki stressed that Tehran, like other Islamic states, has supported rights of the Palestinian nation in forming an independent state.
Iran has also supported the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.
Referring to the ongoing struggle among different Palestinian groups, supporters of the Hamas and Fatah in particular, Mottaki told the Qatar-based tv network, that the existing situation would not benefit any of Palestinian parties.
He stressed, " Tehran backs the Mecca agreement and supports establishment of a national unity government in Palestine." Leaders of the Hamas and Fatah groups had singed a peace deal in the Holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in February to end a period of internecine clashes between the two major Palestinian groups.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last week sacked the unity government led by Hamas after the latter seized control of the Gaza Strip in fighting with Fatah movement.
The ongoing crisis in Palestine should be solved through "serious, productive and without any precondition negotiations among various Palestinian groups, Hams and Fatah in particular," Mottaki said.
Noting that Palestinian groups should not waste their weapons by using them against each other, the minister stressed they should strive to restore their legitimate rights and for this cause close their ranks and unite.