Iran supports Syria reforms based on public vote: Official

A senior advisor to Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran supports reforms in Syria which are based on people’s votes.

We believe that reforms should be carried out in Syria and they need to be based on the public vote, Ali Akbar Velayati said in an interview with the Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV channel.

Velayati, however, added that the reforms should not be carried out through violence or the support of the United States and certain reactionary regimes like Qatar, which provides militants with weapons.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.

The Syrian government 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.

Iran stresses that the crisis in the Arab state must be resolved politically.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly condemned any foreign interference in Syria and denounced certain countries’ support of militants carrying out terrorist activities in the country.