Rouhani to attend OIC summit on Beit-ul-Moqaddas in Istanbul

Political Desk

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is scheduled to travel to Turkey on Tuesday to participate in an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) organized to coordinate a response to the recent US move on Beit-ul-Moqaddas (Jerusalem).

President Rouhani is slated to address the summit which is to be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Wednesday, the Presidential Office’s Director for Communications and Information Parviz Esmaeili said on his Twitter account on Sunday, madaresharghi reported.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday declared that the US was recognizing Beit-ul-Moqaddas as the “capital” of Israel and had instructed his administration to begin the process of moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to the ancient city.

The decision has sparked a wave of condemnations, protests and warnings of further conflagration in the Middle East and led to violent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces.

Speaking at the parliament in Tehran on Sunday, President Rouhani referred to US president’s controversial decision on Beit-ul-Moqaddas, saying the move won’t go unanswered.

“After regional powers’ conspiracy to let terrorist groups dominate the oppressed people in the region was defeated, the Americans today have launched a new plot with the help of the Zionists, which is an aggression on the sacred Quds,” Rouhani said.

“We were not, are not and will not be silent in the face of the conspiracies of the big powers, the US, the arrogance and the Zionism,” Rouhani pointed out.

Also on Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said decisions made at the approaching OIC meeting will show that US recognition of Beit-ul-Moqaddas as the Israeli capital will not be easy to implement, Reuters reported.

Turkey currently holds the chairmanship of the OIC established in 1969.

“We explained to all our interlocutors that the United States’ decision does not comply with international law, diplomacy or humanity,” Erdogan said at a Justice and Development Party (AKP) assembly in Turkey’s central province of Sivas, referring to phone calls he made to leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and the Pope.

“With the roadmap we will create during the OIC meeting, we will show that the decision will not be easy to implement,” he said, adding that Turkey considers US President Trump’s Beit-ul-Moqaddas announcement void.

Erdogan also lashed out at Israel, describing it as a “terrorist” regime and “killer of children” in his remarks.

He said: ‘Trump seeks to move forward by saying “there we go, I did it, it’s done! I’m sorry but… being strong does not give you such a right”.