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Top Iranian diplomat calls for cutting ties with countries over Quran desecrations

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian put forward a proposal to internationally criminalize such actions, sending the delegations to Sweden and Denmark

DUBAI, August 1. /TASS/. Members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should consider severing diplomatic relations with those countries where repeated desecrations of the Quran are allowed to take place, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.

"I have put forward a proposal to internationally criminalize such actions, send OIC delegations to these countries (Sweden and Denmark - TASS), severely punish the perpetrators and lower [the level] of diplomatic relations or sever them [altogether], imposing import bans in case [such incidents] recur," he wrote on Twitter.

On Monday, the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers held an online meeting on recent public burnings of the Quran in Sweden and Denmark. OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha expressed disappointment that Stockholm and Copenhagen had failed to take measures to prevent more Quran desecrations and continued to authorize such activities. The OIC foreign ministers adopted a resolution expressing concern about the revival of racist movements and far-right extremism and demanding an immediate end to extremist actions. The Council also called on the international community to take steps to prevent the desecration of religious symbols, including the Quran.

The OIC Council of Foreign Ministers met in the wake of incidents in Stockholm, where Iraqi immigrants Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem, already facing hate incitement charges over previous demonstrations, burned pages from the Quran.

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