Saudi Arabia root cause of Takfiri crimes: Iranian MP

A senior Iranian lawmaker has reaffirmed Tehran’s continued support for the resistance front in Syria, stressing the need for a negotiated settlement of the conflict in the Arab country.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran announced from the outset that the Syrian crisis has no military solution and that the Syrian problem should be resolved through Syrian-Syrian talks,” said Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Majlis Alaeddin Boroujerdi on Friday.

“Three years on since the US and its regional and international allies began imposing such heavy costs on the Syrian nation, they have now come to the conclusion that such measures indicate [their] weakness and defeat, and are not a sign of power,” the Iranian legislator added.

He emphasized that the Syrian government is more powerful now than ever, adding that any decision made during the crisis talks in Switzerland cannot be implemented without the consent of the Syrian people and government.

Boroujerdi further pointed to Riyadh’s role in terrorist attacks in the region, saying, “Saudi Arabia is the root cause of crimes by Takfiris.”

“As long as Saudi Arabia does not change its erroneous policy, I don’t think that the region will witness peace,” the Iranian lawmaker added.

“The [recent] acts of terror in the region show the failure of US policies in Syria,” he pointed out.

Speaking at a panel discussion on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the withdrawal of all foreign-backed militants from Syria, saying the Syrian people should be allowed to determine their own destiny without foreign interference.

“I can ask all foreign forces to withdraw… to allow the Syrian people to decide their own future,” Zarif said.

Syria has been gripped by a deadly crisis since 2011. According to reports, Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside the country.

The UN says more than four million Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 by the escalating conflict in the country that has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions so far.