Iran told the United Nations on Friday that it does not want to escalate tensions in the Middle East, even as it took a swipe at Saudi Arabia for "sectarian hate-mongering," AFP reported.
| Few people know more about sectarian hate-mongering than the Iranian foreign minister... |
Saudi Arabia was "spreading delusional hype about Iran" after failing to derail the nuclear deal reached with world powers, Tehran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"We have no desire or interest in escalation of tension in our neighborhood," Zarif said in the letter, obtained by AFP.
The foreign minister called for unity to confront extremists and said Riyadh must make a "crucial choice" to either "continue supporting extremist terrorists" or "play a constructive role in promoting regional stability."
Zarif accused Riyadh of waging a "senseless aerial campaign targeting the people of Yemen" and of thwarting efforts to reach a ceasefire and begin political negotiations to end the conflict there. |