Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says Tehran has valuable experience in fighting terrorism and is ready to transfer it to other countries.

Rouhani made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki in Tehran on Monday.

He said that some people try to attribute deviant views to Islam and push young Muslims toward terrorism and extremist activities.

The Iranian president emphasized that measures should be taken to immunize the youth to extremist views.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president pointed to the bilateral relations between Tehran and Skopje, saying that there are extensive potentials for developing and deepening cooperation between the two sides.

“There are no obstacles in the way of developing all-out ties between Tehran and Skopje,” Rouhani stressed.

The Macedonian foreign minister, for his part, referred to the issue of terrorism and the necessity of fighting it, and said, “Unfortunately, Europe ignored the scourge (terrorism) for a long period.”

Poposki also called on all countries to coordinate in the battle against terrorism, which has created “a common concern for the international community.”

He also stressed that Macedonia is willing to strengthen its bilateral ties with Iran, and will open an embassy in Tehran in the near future.

US responsible 

Later on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said during a joint press conference with his Macedonian counterpart that a US court ruling under which some of Iran’s frozen assets would be taken away as “compensation” is politically motivated.

The US Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that about USD 2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to the American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a US Marine Corps barracks in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran.

Zarif said Iran does not recognize US court verdicts.

“Regarding the USD 2 billion in Iranian assets, we officially announced that we view the US government as responsible for the protection of our assets, and we will demand compensation should the assets be tampered with,” Zarif said.

He also said taking the Iranian assets, if it actually takes place, will be in violation of international law.

The assets belong to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which have been blocked under US sanctions.

“The more ridiculous thing,” Zarif said, “is that a US court has held Iran responsible for the September 11 [2001] attacks,” which he said goes far to explain how politicized US court decisions are.

Referring to the Iran-Macedonia relations, Zarif said Tehran established political ties with Skopje since the beginning of Macedonia’s independence, urging broader bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Poposki arrived in Tehran on Monday on a two-day visit.