Iran has reservations about Israel recognition in OIC statement

Iran has expressed reservations about certain articles of the documents adopted at a recent emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the occupied al-Quds ('Jerusalem'), which suggest, somehow, the recognition of the occupying Israeli regime.

On Wednesday, the 57-member Muslim body held an emergency summit in Istanbul, Turkey, to coordinate a response to a decision by the US on December 6 to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel.

In its final communiqué, the OIC declared that it would recognize “East Jerusalem [al-Quds] as the capital of the State of Palestine and invite all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital.”

The main summit was preceded by a meeting of the OIC Foreign Ministers, during which the participants adopted a declaration dubbed “Freedom for al-Quds.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif also attended the event.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi reiterated the Islamic Republic’s support for the “inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.”

However, he said, Tehran’s backing for the two documents adopted at the Istanbul summit “does not at all amount to the recognition of the occupying and fake regime of Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Qassemi added that Iran’s reservations about its non-recognition of the Israeli entity was announced during the Istanbul forum, and officially submitted to the secretariat of the summit in a written form.

The OIC rejected and condemned “in the strongest terms the unilateral decision by the president of the United States of America in recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as the so-called capital of Israel, the occupying Power.”