Iranian 1st VP: Iran Supports Any Plan to End Conflict in Syria

Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi in a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi reiterated Tehran’s support for any plan which ends the crisis and conflict in Syria.

Iran supports any plan that aims to end the conflict and protects the integrity of Syria, Rahimi said during the meeting in Tehran on Tuesday.

“After overcoming all problems and crises, Syria will emerge stronger and more powerful than before,” he added.

Earlier this month, Rahimi in a telephone conversation with al-Halqi had also voiced Iran’s support for the three-staged peace plan proposed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to settle the crisis in his country.

In a speech in Central Damascus on Sunday, President Assad called for a reconciliation conference with “those who have not betrayed Syria”, to be followed by the formation of a new government and an amnesty.

“The first stage of a political solution would require that regional powers stop funding and arming (the opposition), an end to terrorist operations and controlling the borders,” he said.

“We will not have dialogue with a puppet made by the West,” he said.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad’s government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons – most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past – has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.