File photo of Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune

‘It is their fight, not ours’

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said that Bangladesh will not take any side in the ongoing tension between the United States and Iran that evolved after an US air strike killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

“Let others quarrel, but we have a balanced, independent and no-aligned policy — friendship with all and malice to none. It is their fight, not ours,” he told reporters on Tuesday, when asked about Bangladesh’s position on the issue.

The minister was speaking to reporters after attending a meeting, of the sub-committee on the celebration of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka.

Responding to a question, he said: “Yes, we are fairly concerned about that. We are continuously inquiring about them. We have about 300,000 workers in Iraq. They all are well.

“They have not been in any trouble yet as what has happened was a targeted killing. I spoke to our ambassador in Iraq yesterday [Monday] and asked him to remain alert.”

He continued: “We feel restless if there is any problem anywhere in this globalised world, because there are 12.2 million Bangladeshis living in different countries.

“If there is no peace, it troubles Bangladesh. That’s why we want peace and stability. We are scattered throughout the world. We don’t want problems in any country.”

Qassem Soleimani, who was a major general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the head of its elite Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces, were killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq on Friday, along with eight others — sparking the new crisis in the Middle East,

When asked if Dhaka was under pressure from any country over the crisis, Momen said: “I just said that we are pursuing a balanced policy. We don’t poke our head into the trouble between China and India. Our relationship with America, China and India and Saudi Arabia is very good. Our relationship is good with everyone.

“Our principled position: you fight while we’ll look after our interests.”

About a growing international fear of a third World War, the minister said: “I hope not... I don’t think there will be a third World War.”