“The short-sighted policies [adopted] by certain countries are the main reason behind the promotion of the ominous phenomenon of terrorism and the threats facing nations,” Zarif said on Monday.
Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides on the sidelines of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
These policies have “destructive consequences” for their supporters, said Zarif, warning that if those certain states fail to change their policies, the scope of threats emanating from terrorism will grow.
The Cypriot official, for his part, expressed serious concern over the presence of terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Kasoulides said that particular countries have contributed to the spread of terrorism and instability in the region by supporting terrorist groups and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.
In recent years, several countries in the region, including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan have become the scene of atrocious crimes against humanity by Takfiri terrorist groups.
The ISIL terrorists control large parts of Syria’s east and north. ISIL also sent its Takfiri militants into Iraq in June, seizing large swathes of land straddling the border between Syria and Iraq.