Mecca Pact not against Iran, Bangladesh's decision doesn't worry us: Iranian Envoy

The Bangladesh government has been following an extremely balanced foreign policy and that none of its decisions concern Iran, said Iranian Ambassador Jalil Rahimi.

“None of Bangladesh’s decisions concern us. We do not consider the Mecca pact to be an agreement against Iran," he said.

The Iranian ambassador made the remarks while responding to questions from journalists after meeting with State Minister for Foreign Affairs-1, Humaiun Kobir on Wednesday morning.

The Iranian Ambassador said, "We believe that this Mecca Pact is actually a sign of weakness of US security in the Middle East."

He stated, "We have no challenge or opposition with Saudi Arabia. Speaking of Turkey and Pakistan, they are very good friends of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We also have good relations with Saudi Arabia and we maintain good relations with them. So we have no concern or worry regarding the Mecca Pact."

Jalil Rahimi stated that Iran did not target the territory of any Arab country during its conflict with the United States and Israel. He said, "As you know, during the recent conflict between Iran and the United States, we only attacked US military bases located in these Arab countries. We have never attacked the territory or soil of any Arab country."

Experts say that the Mecca Pact is being formed primarily in the interest of the US and Israel. The Pact also raised the question of whether the Muslim nations joining it are indirectly serving their interests.

Responding to this, Iranian Ambassador Jalil Rahimi said, "No, that is not the case. The Mecca Pact is being formed at a time when the United States is deeply worried about providing security to themselves and their allies in the Middle East."

The Iranian Ambassador added that in past years, the US message to the countries of this region was always clear. They would say, "Give us land to establish our military bases and buy weapons from us, then we will provide you with security."

The United States attacked Iran using this same excuse, so that they could change Iran's political system and government, seize Iran's uranium, stop Iran's missile production and showcase their military power to the world, he said.

Jalil Rahimi said, "But as you can see, no change has occurred in Iran's political system. Our enriched uranium is still in our hands. And just last night, our missiles hit targets at US military bases located in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and the Kurdistan region of Iraq."

Pointing out that the US has spent billions of dollars to keep the Strait of Hormuz or sea routes open, the Iranian Ambassador said, "In my view, this Mecca Pact is actually just a supplementary part of the strategic defeat of the United States. The Muslim nations of this region have now realised that the US stockpile of weapons cannot provide them with real security.

“We do not consider the Mecca Pact to be against Iran. We are not worried about it at all," he said.

Responding to a question on whether Iran has proposed or will propose to join this Mecca Pact, Jalil Rahimi said, "We have not submitted any proposal on our own to join. However, if the member states of the Mecca Pact invite or propose for us to join, we will consider it."

Informing that Iran had made a proposal similar to the Mecca Pact about 10 years ago, the country's ambassador said, "We proposed building a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East, so that no country in the Middle East would possess nuclear weapons. But did Israel or the United States support that proposal? No, they did not. Our second proposal was to sign a joint defence agreement among all Islamic nations in the Middle East. But at that time, Arab nations did not support this proposal because they thought the assistance of the United States was sufficient for their security."

"Now our question to Arab nations like Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan is, has the United States been able to provide you with your desired security? Has the United States been able to stop our missiles that passed through your airspace on their way toward Tel Aviv?" he said.