Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution met this morning with the Qatari Emir Shiekh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the importance of security in the region, particularly in the Persian Gulf, and reiterated: "No discrimination can be practiced with regard to security in the Persian Gulf region. This is because all the countries of the region will benefit if security is ensured in the region. But if the security of the region is undermined, all the countries of the region will suffer from its consequences."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the relations between Iran and Qatar as close and reiterated: "These relations should be increased on a daily basis because this will benefit the two countries as well as the countries of the region."
Ayatollah Khamenei further expressed his dissatisfaction with some countries of the region for not being aware of the great importance of security in the Persian Gulf region and added: "Unfortunately, the Zionists and Americans also foster this mentality and contribute to these countries' unawareness of the importance of the security of the region."
His Eminence described the issue of unity among Shia and Sunni Muslims as very important and reiterated: "The Shia and Sunni Muslims of the region have lived together peacefully for many years. But there are some people who try to destroy this friendly atmosphere and turn the ideological differences of Shia and Sunni Muslims into a social conflict."
Ayatollah Khamenei further referred to the remarks made by the Qatari Emir regarding the sensitive situation of Lebanon and the announcement of the verdict of the Hariri tribunal, adding: "This is a kangaroo court and any verdict it issues is invalid. We hope that the influential and involved parties in Lebanon act with rationality and wisdom so that the issue does not turn into a problem."
His Eminence stressed that the plots that are hatched in Lebanon will not produce any results and added: "We are very hopeful that the situation of the region will improve."
In this meeting, which was also attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Qatari Emir referred to the friendly relations between the two countries and described the relations as a model for the countries of the region.
He added: "The political stances of the two countries have always been very close, and we hope that the relations between the two countries are strengthened in other areas as well."
The Qatari Emir described the issue of unity between Shia and Sunni Muslims as very important. He further referred to the situation of Lebanon and stated: "There are some people who are after creating a new fitna in Lebanon. With the assistance of other countries of the region, we are trying to act on the basis of expedience and prevent this fitna."