Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has congratulated the new UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, and urged participation in a fight against “extremism” and help find “peaceful solutions” to the crises in Syria.
In his message which was handed over by Iran’s Ambassador to UN Gholamreza Khoshroo, to the office of new designated secretary general of UN, Mohammad Javad Zarif has hailed Antonio Guterres’s status for being appointed as head of UN.
“I have the pleasure to express my heart-felt congratulation to you on your well-deserved election as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. I am confident that with your outstanding and remarkable career makes you are in the best possible position to be at the helm of the United Nations at this grave juncture for international relations,” The statement said.
“At the critical time that you will assume the leadership of… [the UN], it is imperative that the United Nations engage in the crucial fight against all aspects of violent extremism and play effectively and efficiently its part in efforts towards finding peaceful and locally-owned solutions for the ongoing crises in Yemen and Syria,” read part of Zarif’s congratulatory message to the new UN chief.
Zarif also pointed to last year’s nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia – plus Germany, hoping that 67-year-old Guterres would play an active role in supporting the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which resolved the long-running dispute over the Iranian nuclear program.
“Following the fruition of the JCPOA on Iran’s nuclear file, which enhanced hope in our region, we look forward to the United Nations, under your guidance, to help and follow up on the full implementation of the deal in its entirety by all parties,” the Iranian foreign minister’s message pointed out.
Under the JCPOA, which took effect in January, the Islamic Republic has agreed to roll back certain aspects of its nuclear program — including the volume of its uranium stockpiles enriched to the 20-percent level — and has provided international atomic monitors enhanced access to its nuclear facilities.
Guterres was appointed by the 193-member UN assembly to succeed Ban Ki-moon of South Korea on Thursday. The former Portuguese prime minister will take up the position on January 1, 2017, for a five-year term.
