Lawmaker: US Hegemony "on the Wane"

“The era of US hegemony in the region has been over and the Americans are on the brink of failure in unilateralism in the world,” Vice-Chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mansour Haqiqatpour told Tasnim on Saturday.

He also pointed to the US decision to step back from a military action against Syria, and said, “The US retreat seems to herald the advent of multilateralism in the world, a process that stems from lack of US success in attacking Syria.”

The US has been pressing for military action on Syria since a suspected chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21, which it blamed on the forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The government of Syria has denied involvement and said the rebels were responsible.

US President Barack Obama, however, stopped short of ordering a strike last week and said he would seek the endorsement of Congress for any assault on Syria.

Haqiqatpour further added that cooperation of Iran with Russia and China, Iran’s support for Syria’s legitimate government, and the subsequent pro-Syrian stances by the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements were effective factors that helped avert military action in Syria.

Russia is one of Syria's most important international backers and has warned the US and its allies against taking one-sided action against the country. It has dismissed US claims that forces loyal to President Bashar Assad carried out a chemical attack in Damascus on August 21. China has joined Russia in blocking  three resolutions critical of Syria at the UN Security Council. It has also criticized the prospect of strikes against Syria.

On Monday Russia made a proposal under which Syria will surrender control of its chemical weapons stockpile to the international community for destruction.

In a statement late on Thursday, the United Nations confirmed that President Bashar al-Assad signed a decree stating that Syria will accede to the international law on the prohibition of chemical weapons.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his most recent reaction, said Russia welcomes Syria's decision to join the Chemical Weapons Convention, which is aimed at prohibiting chemical weapons use.

“The efforts that have been recently made have permitted to decrease the direct threat of a military operation," Putin said.