During a two-day security conference in Sochi, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, met with Chinese Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun to discuss the prospects of adopting a common strategy for Tehran, Moscow and Beijing to counter Washington’s “hostile measures.”
"The US has put Russia, China and Iran in the list of threats to its national security and implements sanctions against the three countries. So, adopting a joint strategy to counter Washington's comprehensive attempts at harming these countries is necessary,” Shamkhani said, as cited by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Shamkhani addressed the issue of terrorism, which has threatened international peace and stability, stressing that the US and its allies are trying to protect terrorists in Syria under the pretext of the alleged use of chemical weapons by the country’s government forces in the city of Douma.
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On April 14, the United States, joined by France and the United Kingdom, fired over a 100 missiles at multiple targets in Syria as retaliation for the alleged chemical incident in Douma.
Muslim Nations Should Stand United
Also on Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States.
“The Iranian nation has successfully resisted bullying attempts by America and other arrogant powers and we will continue to resist… All Muslim nations should stand united against America and other enemies,” he said.
Khamenei’s remarks came shortly after President Donald Trump suggested that some nations in the Middle East “wouldn’t last a week” without US protection.
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Tensions between Tehran and Washington have heightened, as President Trump is challenging the historic 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, signed by the P5+1 group – China, Germany, Russia, France, the UK and the US. POTUS has repeatedly slammed the so-called Iran deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – as the worst deal of all time and has threatened to withdraw unilaterally if the agreement was not amended.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the accord should not be abandoned before they have something to replace it with, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia favored preserving the JCPOA “in its current form,” stressing that Moscow sees no alternative to it.
The breakthrough deal stipulates a gradual lifting of anti-Tehran sanctions in exchange for Iran maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, pledging not to develop or acquire nuclear weapons.
