Envoy: Diplomacy Needs to Come to Fore in Syrian Crisis
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – All diplomatic channels must be exhausted to find a peaceful settlement to the crisis in Syria, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon said, adding that Israel and its supporters should not forget the previous lessons they were taught in the region.
“The fact that some countries are preparing to launch a military attack on Syria is the best testimony to that country's resilience and strength during the past two and a half years in the face of US-Zionist extensive plans, ” Ambassador Ghazanfar Roknanadi said Wednesday evening.
The Iranian envoy also emphasized that all possible diplomatic means should be used in the search for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis.
Roknabadi meanwhile advised the Zionist regime of Israel and its supporters not to forget the lessons they have learned, adding that the Islamic Republic of Iran will always remain by the side of Syrian nation and government.
His remarks came after Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said that military intervention in Syria will be harmful to the US, and noted that meddling of trans-regional countries in the region will only result in more antipathy towards them.
“If such a move (possible attack on Syria) takes place, the Americans will surely suffer losses just like what they underwent in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday, addressing Iranian cabinet members here in Tehran.
The Leader also described a possible US military intervention in Syria as “a disaster for the region,” adding, ”Trans-regional and foreign powers’ intervention in a country will result in nothing but igniting fire, and will also increase the nations’ aversion to them (meddling countries).”
“Such fire is like a spark in a powder keg, whose aftermath and ramification will be unclear,” Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.
“The region is passing through sensitive and critical days,” the Leader cautioned.
The remarks by Ayatollah Khamenei came while the US and some of its western allies have announced their readiness to hit Syria, on the pretext of suspected chemical attack by the Syrian government.
Earlier, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed western allegations that he used chemical weapons as politically motivated and warned Washington any US military intervention would fail.
"Failure awaits the United States as in all previous wars it has unleashed, starting with Vietnam and up to the present day," he said on Monday.
Assad also said Syrian government forces had been close to where rebel forces say chemical weapons were used last week. "Would any state use chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction in a place where its own forces are concentrated? That would go against elementary logic," Assad stated.
