IRGC Deputy Commander: Iran Not to Withdraw from Stance on Syria

Iran does not trust the western countries as the nation’s experience over time has taught it, said a senior official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), who also added that Tehran would not back down from its stances towards Syria.

“We do not trust the West and the western governments are not trustworthy, but in the (Geneva) agreement the path is open to both sides,” said Hamidreza Moqaddamfar, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in cultural and social affairs.
He made the comments 10 days after Iran and the G5+1, made up of the US, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany, signed a landmark interim agreement with Iran over its nuclear program that is hoped can pave the way for eventual resolution of the nuclear standoff – that has lasted for a decade.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Moqaddamfar said Tehran would under no circumstances retreat from its positions towards Syria and that Iran’s “principled stands” would not be sidetracked by any consideration.

Iran has been one of the main supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has called on warring sides in the Syrian fray to sit together to find a settlement for the crisis that has shown no sign of abating, saying that the future of the country should be decided through diplomacy and ballot boxes not through the barrels of the guns.