Basij Commander: Syrian Crisis to End with Israel’s Collapse

Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) Force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi underlined that the current crisis in Syria will terminate with the collapse of the Zionist regime.
“The end of (crisis in) Syria will lead to the collapse of the Zionist regime,” Naqdi said in the Northern province of Golestan on Saturday night.

Elsewhere, he referred to the recent unrests in Turkey, and stressed, “What is happening in Turkey is a lesson for those who say that we should turn to the West.”
In relevant remarks on Saturday, Naqdi underlined that the recent unrest in Turkey is the result of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policy of concession to the demands of Washington and other western countries.

“Today, the Turkish government has reached a point that the streets in Turkey are the scene of conflicts every day due to the propaganda of the western media, and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is complaining about BBC and CNN (‘s biased reports),” Naqdi said in Tehran.

“This is the result of interaction with the US,” he added.

The unrest in Turkey began on May 31 after the police broke up a sit-in held at Istanbul’s Taksim Square to protest against the proposal to demolish Gezi Park.

Over the next several days, tens of thousands of antigovernment protesters held demonstrations in 78 cities across the country.

According to the Turkish Human Rights Foundation, five people have died, including a policeman, and about 7,800 people have been injured in the protests.

Six injured protesters are in critical condition and 11 people have lost their eyesight during the police crackdown.

The protesters say Gezi Park, which is a traditional gathering point for rallies and demonstrations as well as a popular tourist destination, is Istanbul’s last green public space.

Erdogan has been harshly criticized for the way he has handled the crisis, and Amnesty International has censured the Turkish police for using excessive force against peaceful protesters.

According to a number of political analysts, the popularity of the ruling AK Party — which has won three straight elections — could decline if Erdogan does not resolve the crisis in a way acceptable to the general public.