Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (R) receives Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Tehran on Wednesday, February 27, 2013.
Wed Feb 27, 2013 5:24PM GMT
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Zionists and other arrogant powers are determined to sow discord among Muslims.
“Creating discord and division in the Muslim Ummah is one of the obvious and planned objectives of the Zionists and other arrogant [powers],” Ayatollah Khamenei told the visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday.
Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the opposition and hostilities towards the development of relations between Iran and Pakistan, saying both sides must decisively move past such oppositions.“We firmly believe that economic, infrastructural, political, social and security bonds between the two countries should be strengthened,” the Leader added.
The Leader also voiced Iran’s readiness to supply energy to Pakistan.
“In this region, the Islamic Republic is the only country with a secure source of energy and we are ready to meet Pakistan’s need in this regard,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The Leader described the under-construction Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline as a good example of cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad.
Ayatollah Khamenei said “sectarian strife” in Pakistan is a “dangerous foreign microbe,” adding, “Sectarian killings in Pakistan are really regretful and this issue should be decisively dealt with to prevent it from disturbing Pakistan's national unity.”For his part, Zardari said, “We firmly believe in the expansion of bilateral relations.”
“The efforts made by international and regional players to prevent strength in Iran-Pakistan relations have failed because nations have learnt how to act in the face of enemies of Islam,” said the Pakistani president.