Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas AraGHchi, who was in Rome to attend the fifth round of indirect talks between Iran and the US, met on Friday with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Prime Minister of the Vatican.
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Foreign Minister, also attended the meeting.
Araghchi extended condolences over the passing of Pope Francis and congratulated the election of Pope Leo.
During the meeting, Araghchi outlined Iran’s position on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and briefed the Vatican’s senior officials on the ongoing indirect Iran-US negotiations.
He also described the catastrophic situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, citing the intensifying massacres and continuing genocide in Gaza, and emphasized the legal and moral responsibility of all nations and peoples to denounce and oppose the crimes and to act urgently to stop the atrocities and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Araghchi stated that occupation, apartheid, and gross violations of the Palestinian people’s fundamental rights, including their right to self-determination, are the root causes of insecurity and unrest in West Asia.
He stressed that the so-called two-state solution has become an unrealized promise that has only exacerbated the denial of Palestinian rights, while the Israeli regime is pursuing colonial erasure of Palestine.
Iran’s proposed solution, he added, is the formation of a single democratic state across the entire territory of Palestine, through a referendum with the participation of all original inhabitants — Muslims, Jews, and Christians.
The two sides also discussed the state of Iran-Vatican bilateral relations, interfaith dialogue, and the promotion of peaceful discourse.
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