Iran to continue support for Syria: Deputy FM

A senior official has reaffirmed Iran’s support for the Syrian nation and government in their fight against terrorism, stressing that only Syrians can decide the future of their country.

“We will continue to support Syria and only the Syrian people will decide at the end of a political process,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, said.

He made the remarks following the third round of international talks on the crisis in Syria in New York on Friday.

Amir-Abdollahian said the Iranian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, managed to block the adoption of a politically-motivated list of Syrian opposition in the meeting.

Takfiri terror groups have no place in Syria’s future, he said, adding terrorists would not be allowed to participate in national talks among Syrian parties.

Tehran will work with Russia, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and France to prepare a list of terror groups and the real Syrian opposition, Amir-Abdollahian said.

The Iranian official made the remarks after the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to endorse an international bid to end the nearly five-year-long conflict in Syria.

The resolution, adopted on Friday, calls for Syrian peace talks on a transitional government to begin in early January. It also calls for a nationwide ceasefire in the war-torn country.

According to the resolution, a “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian” government should be established in Syria within six months and UN-supervised “free and fair elections” should be held within 18 months.

The Syrian conflict, which started in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or out of its borders.