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Sylvi Listhaug goes surprisingly far in supporting regime change in Iran and thus differs markedly from Ine Eriksen Søreide, who condemns the war.
Frp leader Sylvi Listhaug hopes that the attack on Iran will lead to the fall of the Islamic regime. Several party leaders are concerned about a major war in the Middle East.
– The Progress Party hopes that these dramatic events will contribute to the fall of the Islamic regime, after 47 years of tyranny. We wholeheartedly support the people’s attempt to overthrow the regime and build a free and democratic Iran, says party leader Sylvi Listhaug of the Progress Party in a statement to NTB.
On Saturday morning Israel and the United States initiated an attack against Iran, and Iran has begun its retaliation. The attacks are taking place after the United States for several weeks has deployed military forces in the Middle East.
– The developments in the Middle East are highly worrying because this may develop into a major war in the region. This may also have major consequences for the oil price and the global economy, says Listhaug.
She finally emphasises that the Iranian people must themselves be allowed to determine their own future and that it is important that the civilian population is spared as far as possible.
– The last thing the Middle East needs
The situation in the Middle East is highly dramatic and unclear, and the danger of escalation is great, says Høyre leader Ine Eriksen Søreide.
– The last thing the Middle East needs is yet another extensive war. It will have major consequences both regionally and globally, says Søreide, who also chairs the Storting’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, in a statement.
– The Iranian regime has in recent months once again demonstrated its enormous brutality towards its own population, who have demonstrated for their fundamental rights, and Iran’s nuclear programme is a real threat, Søreide continues.
She says that it is decisive that the parties contribute to calming the situation and move the conflict into a diplomatic track.
Condemns the attack
SV leader Kirsti Bergstø also believes that the last thing the Middle East needs is a new war. She condemns the attack and asks the government to do the same.
– This is yet another clear breach of international law and the UN Charter by the United States and Israel, says Bergstø in a statement.
Bergstø emphasises that she considers the clerical regime in Iran to be among the most brutal in the world.
– SV fully supports the Iranian uprising. But freedom does not come with bombs. Norway must find ways to support the democratic uprising in Iran, she says.
– Gunboat diplomacy
– What is happening in Iran now is a serious threat to world peace, says party leader Arild Hermstad of the Green Party in a statement to NTB.
He understands that the attacks from Israel and the United States may give new hope to many Iranians, but emphasises that the attacks are extremely dangerous.
– The Iranian regime is among the most brutal in the world, but I hope that we can avoid a major war and new suffering for people in the region.
– American gunboat diplomacy has seldom led to peace in the Middle East, and Trump’s actions are more motivated by pure self-interest than by genuine concern for a freedom-fighting people in Iran, he concludes.