President Rouhani, Assad Discuss US Strike over Phone

Syrian state media said President Bashar Assad has spoken with his Iranian counterpart following last week’s US missile strike on a Syrian air base used as a frontline in the battle against foreign-backed terrorists.

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani “expressed strong condemnation of the blatant US aggression on the Syrian territories,” SANA quoted a presidential office statement as saying on Sunday.

“President Assad said that the US failed in achieving the goal behind this attack which is to raise the morale of the US-backed terrorist groups after the victories achieved by the Syrian Army,” the agency said.

Some 60 US Tomahawk missiles were fired from US warships deployed to the Mediterranean at the Shayrat airfield southeast of the western Syria city of Homs on Friday.

Assad reaffirmed the determination of the Syrian people and armed forces to continue their struggle against terrorism, SANA said. He also expressed gratitude to Iran for standing by Syria in the battle, it added.

Rouhani further questioned the circumstances surrounding the assault which came without a UN Security Council or US congressional permission.

“How do they allow themselves to do this? By what right and logic?” he asked, delivering an address in Tehran.

“Has anyone entrusted the authority of leading the world with the US? Has anyone chosen the US as the world police?” he questioned.

“Still worse are the countries from our own region, which cheer the US invasion and clap for America. Why do you rush yourselves into encouraging the invader and the oppressor?” he said.

“Don’t worry. One day it will be your turn,” Rouhani added.

Separately, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani addressed the issue of the attack, calling it “a start and not a closure.”

“You have fanned the flames of the crisis, whose consequences will befall on you,” he stated.

He also asked why the attack had preceded any fact-finding operation, and likened it to the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, which had failed to succeed in the face of terrorism.