Iran says Israel’s strikes against Syria bespeak the regime’s inhumane nature

The top diplomat, who is on a two-day visit to Syria, made the remarks on Thursday, meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Iranian official singled out the regime’s most recent airstrike against an international airport in the northwestern city of Aleppo, saying the attack indicated the regime’s aggressive and inhumane nature.

He added that the strike also reflected the regime’s anxiety over the change that has affected the political equation in Syria — apparently referring to regional countries’ racing to restore their relations with the Arab country — as well as Tel Aviv’s endeavor to deflect attention from its own predicaments.

The foreign minister considered the regional rapprochement drive to be a practical development and a positive step down the path of Islamic unity.

Amir-Abdollahian reiterated Iran’s solidarity and sympathy with the Syrian government and nation over the devastating earthquake that hit the Arab country and neighboring Turkey last month killing more than 52,000 people on both sides of the border.

He further conveyed Iran’s assertion concerning the need for the elimination of the United States and its Western allies’ sanctions on Syria towards facilitation of aid operations that center on the quake-hit nation.

For his part, Assad expressed his gratitude towards the Islamic Republic over its provision of support for the Syrian nation in the wake of the temblor and thanked Amir-Abdollahian for his earlier visit to quake-hit areas in Syria.

The Syrian head of state also laid emphasis on the need for further development of his country’s relations with Iran, defining the ties as strategic and in favor of regional stability and security.

Press conference with al-Mekdad

Also on Wednesday, the Iranian top diplomat met with his Syrian counterpart Faisal al-Mekdad before attending a joint press conference.

Asked if Iran had any plans for reinforcing the Syrian air defenses against the Israeli regime’s incessant attacks, Amir-Abdollahian said, “Tough days await the Zionist regime,” adding that Tel Aviv had to wait for “regret-inducing days.”

He also insisted that the time had come for foreign forces to leave Syria, saying, “Tehran invites all parties to respect Syria and the region’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, security, and stability.”

Amir-Abdollahian condemned the double-standard approach that was adopted by the West in the aftermath of the earthquake that saw Western countries lagging far behind in loosening their crippling sanctions against the Arab country despite the dire situation that it was facing.

“Tehran and Damascus [however] are fellows in misfortune,” he noted, referring to the Islamic Republic’s rushing to Syria’s assistance right after the occurrence of the natural disaster.

Amir-Abdollahian repeated Tehran’s condemnation of the Israeli aggression against Syria, while hailing the regional countries’ efforts to repair their ties with the Arab nation.

“We have no doubt that the Zionists will have no place in the region’s future, but the regional countries will take strong steps towards interaction with one another,” the Iranian official said.

He considered multilateral regional negotiations to be the key to the resolution of the regional crises, saying the Islamic Republic welcomed the continuation of talks among Iran, Syria, Russia, and Turkey on the situation in the Arab country.

Mekdad, for his part, echoed Amir-Abdollahian’s remarks, considering the withdrawal of foreign forces from Syrian soil to be “Iran and Syria’s principal priority.”

“Our mission in the region is to return the situation to normal,” Mekdad said.

Thanking Iran for its relief endeavors aimed at the earthquake-hit people in Syria, the Syrian foreign minister reminded that the Islamic Republic was the first country to start providing Syria with assistance in the aftermath of the temblor by flying aid-laden aircraft to Damascus and the northwestern city of Aleppo.