Foreign ground intervention to intensify Syria crisis: Iran

Iran has warned against any foreign ground incursion in Syria without the approval of the Syrian government, saying the move would only intensify the crisis in the conflict-stricken country.

Speaking at his weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said the Syrian crisis is a result of meddlesome approach by certain regional and extra-regional countries.

“The Syrian crisis is the result of interference by certain regional and international powers that want to impose their policies on the government and the people of Syria,” he said.

Iran believes that any action in the countries that are grappling with crisis should not violate the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of those countries and that any kind of measure taken without the approval of the governments in such countries would only lead to the escalation of the conflicts there, Jaberi Ansari said.

The Iranian official further said renouncing terrorism and supporting intra-Syrian talks can only settle the crisis in the Arab country.

The Iranian official’s remarks came after Saudi Arabia said on February 4 that it is ready to participate in any ground operations in Syria if the US-led coalition decides to start such operations. US State Department spokesman, John Kirby, welcomed the Saudi decision.

Saudi Arabia is a member of the so-called US-led coalition that has been conducting air raids against what are claimed to be the Daesh terrorists inside Syria without any authorization from the Syrian government or a UN mandate since September 2014. The US-led strikes have, on many occasions, targeted Syria’s infrastructures and left many civilians dead.

Earlier, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said that any “ground intervention on Syrian territory without government authorization would amount to an aggression that must be resisted.”

Meddlesome policies hinder Yemen peace

Referring to the ongoing crisis in Yemen, Jaberi Ansari said interference of some regional countries has prevented the success of the UN-brokered peace talks aimed at settling the deadly conflict in the impoverished Arab country.

He warned that the persistence of the Yemeni crisis will strengthen terrorist groups which threaten global security.

Yemen has been under airstrikes by Saudi Arabia since March 26 last year. The Saudi strikes have been meant to undermine Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and bring fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, back to power.

Some 8,280 people, among them 2,236 children, have reportedly been killed and over 16,000 others injured. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the poorest Arab country’s infrastructure.