Riyadh- Former Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said that Iran has been brought forward to one of two ultimatums, either stand against terrorism or to cement its position as a terror sponsor state in the region.
Iran has to reveal its true stances on counterterrorism efforts– either join, or by default fall into empowering terrorism in conflict zones.
“The decisive moment of truth has arrived, and Iran has to choose its stances clearly and do away with ambiguity when it comes to terrorism,” Frattini told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“It is by no means a secret that Iran backs and supports Houthis in Yemen, which is what calls for investigating such an approach and to avert its (Iranian expansionist strategy) evils from affecting the region,” the former Italian top diplomat added.
Praising the vital role played by Saudi Arabia and its allies leading an Arab coalition in Yemen to support the legitimate government, Frattini pointed out that Yemenis have earned the right to be supported and defended so that they can establish a solution for their crisis.
Amid rising fears of Iran’s ballistic missiles and nuclear program taking a hostile course, Frattini says that Europe is working on an agreement to be signed by the US and Russia that would subvert Iranian aspiration on developing nuclear weapons.
“Europe is cooperating with the US and Russia in signing agreements on the premise that this agreement (the Iranian nuclear program) demands that the Iranian nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only,” Frattini said.
He added that strict multilateral monitoring and regulating measures should be undisputedly instated when implementing the Iran nuclear deal.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Riyadh Forum to combat terrorism, Frattini highlighted the Saudi role played in the fight against terrorism.
Frattini called for the establishment of true cooperation between the Islamic alliance and its international counterpart, NATO, to curb terrorism.
One of the gravest mistakes made by the West is trying to export the model of Western democracy to other countries while linking Islam to terrorism and extremism, he said.
“We have to guide generations to invest in education and clarify everything related to extremism,” Frattini said, explaining that there is no connection between Islam as a religion and other heavenly religions and terrorism
Terrorism and extremism are defined by disembarking on world domination and controlling resources whether it be power, energy, money and influence, as well as occupying the position of others, he added.