BEIJING, June 25 -- Former Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Alinaghi Kharrazi denounced some Western countries over the weekend for winking at terrorist activities in the Middle East, warning that the connivance will backfire.
Speaking at a global forum on international security in Beijing, Kharrazi accused European countries and the United States of extending support "to those countries which had created mess in the Middle East."
They "even provided those (terrorist) groups with intelligence, weapons and training, and helped them to topple the legal governments in Iraq and Syria," Kharrazi told the sixth World Peace Forum, a two-day event organized by Tsinghua University.
Some countries take their economic interests over national security, added Kharrazi, who is now president of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations.
In his eyes, the United States stopped the prosecution and penalization process of Saudi Arabia, whose citizens were involved in the 9/11 attacks, as a result of the slush funds paid to the United States by Saudi Arabia.
The West, he warned, should not condone terrorism in the Middle East, because the youth born in Western countries and recruited into terrorist groups in the Middle East would eventually return to their home countries and might perpetrate terrorist acts there.
He noted that with the development of information and communication technologies and expansion of social networks, Western powers have tried to expand their cultural influence in other countries, including Muslim-majority nations and Muslim communities in Europe, which led to the latter's humiliation.
That disgruntlement has helped extremist groups to recruit youths in Western countries, he said, adding that economic pressure and unemployment have also contributed to the recruitment of Westerners by extremist groups.
He pointed out that the lack of collective endeavor impedes efforts in the fight against terrorism, and stressed that Iran is firm in its fight against terrorism and is ready to cooperate with other parties for that cause.
Noting that some adverse effects of globalization have contributed to instability, the former diplomat said globalization should promote all countries' participation in global governance and preclude big powers' acquisitiveness and imposition of their influence on others.
Only in that way can globalization culminate in the development and prosperity of all parties, he said.
