Iran Rejects Allegations on Efforts to Help Palestinians

Iran on Tuesday denied allegations on its efforts to encourage Palestinian groups to create tension in the region following the failure of the Camp David summit.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi termed as "baseless" the reports by Israeli radio and some other press on the Iranian efforts, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Israel radio and Sunday Times reported recently Iran is trying to encourage Palestinian groups to get involved in operations against the Israeli regime and has provided those groups with financial assistance.

Such a propaganda tool had been previously employed in similar cases by the Israeli regime in an attempt to exert further pressure on militant Palestinian forces in the aftermath of the failure of the recent talks, he said.

Asefi said the principled firm stance adopted by the Islamic world toward the issue of Palestine, specially the holy Qods (Jerusalem), is the main reason for the Israelis to raise such repeated allegations under this crucial juncture.

Iran had voiced strong opposition to the summit held on July 11-25 in Camp David between leaders of Palestine, Israel and the United Sates and expressed delight over the failure of the summit.

After Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak failed to reach any agreement, Tehran launched extensive contacts and consultations with Islamic states and Palestinian groups, calling for common stance among the Muslim countries toward the Palestinian issue.

Expressing concern over the US statements to transfer its embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Iran underlined the sovereignty of Jerusalem belongs to Palestine and the Palestinians have the right to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.



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