TEHRAN: Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged the United Nations to help secure the release of Iranian border soldiers abducted by Sunni extremists, media reported yesterday.
Zarif sent a message to UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday evening demanding action from the international community, saying “mere condemnation of acts of terrorism is not enough”.
His urgent plea to the UN chief came after Jaish-ul Adl, the rebel group operating in southeast Iran, claimed to have killed one of the five abducted soldiers and threatened further executions.
Ban had on Tuesday condemned the reported killing as an “appalling act” and urged that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
The young soldiers, who were serving their 24-month mandatory military service, are believed to have been taken into neighbouring Pakistan after being kidnapped in February.
Zarif linked the abduction to what he termed a series of “terrorist atrocities against Iranian citizens, including diplomats and other officials”, according to a copy of his letter to Ban posted on his Facebook page.
He decried action against Shia Iran by “state-sponsored extremist groups, with similar patterns of funding, coordination, support and direction”.
Zarif did not name any countries but Iranian officials have pointed the finger of blame at regional rivals, particularly Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, for a number of attacks against Iranian diplomatic missions in Lebanon, Pakistan and Yemen.
A diplomatic source in Tehran said the letter could pave the way for a debate within the UN as “state-sponsored terrorism” is a regional issue.
Jaish-ul Adl, which took up arms in 2012 to fight for what it says are the rights of Iran’s minority Sunni population, on Sunday warned of further executions should Tehran refuse to release Sunni prisoners.
AFP
