Syrian Deputy FM Thanks Iran for Anti-Terrorism Fight

Faisal al-Meqdad, Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister, said his country is indebted to Iran for it’s firm support in the fight against terrorism. 

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The remarks came during a meeting in Tehran with Ali Akbar Velayati, senior advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Iran has provided both military advice and diplomatic support in the fight against terrorist groups operating in Syria and Iraq. While military advisors have aided in delivering victories against terrorists in the region, which have included the capture of sophisticated Islamic State group weapons produced by western nations, diplomacy has been employed to help mediate peace talks. In Syria’s case, this has resulted in peace negotiations taking place in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Meqdad continued to explain that the current U.S. administration’s decision to deny certification of Iran’s compliance to 2015 nuclear deal has rallied global support in opposition to yet another hardline stance taken by President Donald Trump.

He added that sanctions imposed on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, by the U.S. government have also contributed to straining relations between the two countries.

Velayati, for his part, asked, “Our common question is why the Americans have set up 12 bases on Syrian soil without authorization from the government of the country? It is, however, obvious that their goal is to disintegrate Syria.”

He went on to assert that “As the Americans have been defeated in Iraq, they will also be defeated in Syria. Despite U.S. efforts to sow discord among the countries of the resistance front, the bloc is getting more resilient every day.”

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Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, who is attending the 13th meeting of the Iran-South African Joint Commission, scoffed at remarks made by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson which included that “Iranian militias that are in Iraq, now that the fight against Daesh and ISIS is coming to a close, those militias need to go home.” The U.S. top official added that the “the foreign fighters in Iraq need to go home and allow the Iraqi people to regain control.”

Zarif responded by saying that Iran’s anti-terrorist fighters “are already in their homes,” noting that had Iran awaited orders from Tillerson or the U.S. government, the Islamic State group would have penetrated Baghdad and Erbil.

He went on to say that “unlike the U.S. that sees its interest in division and discord, the Islamic Republic of Iran sees its interests in cooperation and collaboration with regional countries.”