We won’t allow any coalition against our interests – Iran warns Poland

Tabnak – Washington’s decision to hold an anti-Iran conference in Poland has become controversial, as Tehran warns Warsaw that the move could impact Iran-Poland relations. For now, Polish officials are trying to reassure Iran that the conference won’t target Iran directly.

In this vein, a Polish deputy foreign minister gave Iran an assurance that a conference that his country is going to co-organize with the US in Warsaw next month will focus on the Middle East peace and will not be against the Islamic Republic at all.

Poland’s Undersecretary of State for Economic Diplomacy, Development Cooperation, Asia, Africa and the Middle East Policy Maciej Lang arrived in Tehran on Monday and held a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

Heading a diplomatic delegation, Lang visited Tehran to allay Iran’s concerns about the so-called conference on the Middle East peace and security in Warsaw, initiated by the US.

In the meeting with Iran's deputy foreign minister for political affairs Abbas Araqchi, the Polish official highlighted the close relations between Poland and Iran as well as his country’s strong support for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, stressing that the planned conference in Warsaw will discuss peace and security in the Middle East and “will not be against any country at all, including the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“As a major actor in the Middle East, Iran has a significant role in the formation of regional developments. Poland’s purpose in holding the conference is to help settle problems in the region, and Poland, as a friend of Iran’s, will not allow any measure to be taken against Iran,” Lang said.

For his part, raqchi said, “Iran always seeks to establish peace and security in the region and has proved this in its fight against terrorist groups such as Daesh.” The Iranian deputy foreign minister added, “However, [the Islamic Republic of Iran] does not allow any country to build a coalition against its interests either within the region or outside.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this month that the Warsaw conference would focus on stability and security in the Middle East, including the “important element of making sure that Iran is not a destabilizing influence.”

Earlier this month, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned Polish chargé d'affaires in Tehran, Wojciech Unolt, to provide answers as to why Warsaw had agreed to host the event. Tehran believes that the conference is a hostile measure by the United States against its interests.

Iranian Foreign Mohammad Javad Zarif has denounced the planned event in Poland as a “desperate anti-Iran circus.” Zarif has also reminded Poland of the favor that Iran has done the Polish during the second world war, noting, “Polish government can't wash the shame: while Iran saved Poles in WWII, it now hosts desperate anti-Iran circus.”