Enemy seeks fall of Syria before Iran presidential vote: Cmdr.

A senior Iranian military commander says the enemies of the Islamic Republic want to overthrow the Syrian government before Iran’s June presidential election.

“Foreign adversaries such as the US and the Zionists, who are sworn enemies of the [Islamic] Revolution [of Iran], and certain Arab countries as well as Turkey are mounting pressure on Syria to overthrow its government before Iran’s election,” Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi said Saturday.

Rahim-Safavi added that these countries have spent a lot of money to achieve their objective, dispatched thousands of mercenaries to Syria and want to involve Jordan in the Syria war using the financial resources of Arab states like Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011 and many people, including large numbers of security forces and army personnel have been killed in the violence.

Damascus says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations have accused the militants operating in Syria of committing war crimes.

Rahim-Safavi, who is also a senior military adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, described the upcoming presidential election as a strategic turning point and crossing a historical passage for the Islamic Revolution and the Iranian nation.

Iran’s 11th presidential election will be held on June 14. Presidential hopefuls can register from May 7 to 11.

The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election and candidates must be vetted for qualifications by the Guardian Council.