Manuchehr Mohammadi, Iranian assistant foreign minister for research, has denied statements attributed to him that a resolution to the Middle East conflicts is contingent on an end to the traditional royal regimes in the Gulf. The statements drew a reaction from a prominent Gulf official early last week. Mohammadi accused some media outlets of incorrectly reporting his speech at the University of Mashhad City. Earlier, the Iranian Mehr News Agency quoted Manuchehr Mohammadi as saying, “The Middle East will remain as a center of developments and crises so long as the royal regimes in the Gulf remain in place, and conflicts will not be resolved without the disappearance of these traditional regimes.” However, the Iranian assistant foreign minister for research denied these statements. “A number of the media did not correctly understand my statements.” Asserting the strategy of Iran's foreign policy, Manuchehr Mohammadi said that Tehran's constant and firm line is “to respect nations' sovereignty and strengthen ties with the neighboring states in the framework of the principle of mutual respect.” The statements attributed to the Iranian assistant foreign minister were met with extreme dissatisfaction by the six Gulf States. Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] Abdul-Rahman Al-Atiyah expressed this dissatisfaction by describing these statements as hostile. Earlier, the GCC member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman – asked for an official clarification from the Iranian Government on the statements that Mohammadi made in Mashhad.
