Larijani: Iran in Contacts with Different Sides in Syria

Tehran is in contacts with different sides involved in the crisis in Syria to settle the problems in the country through dialogue and negotiations, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said.

“We support a political dialogue to settle the crisis,” Larijani said, and added that “we are negotiating with some other countries and today (Friday) I discussed the issue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad”.

“We are in contact with different sides in Syria and there is no limitation in this concern and in the recent gathering in Tehran we have invited conflicting groups to present their own views and in this direction and framework we are ready to solve the problem,” he said in Beirut, after visiting Syria on Friday.

Larijani underlined that those who are dispatching weapons to Syria are to hit the resistance in its struggle against the Zionist regime, and said that interference of a number of countries and dispatching weapons for opposition groups of Syrian government is wrong and is cruelty to Syrian nation.

Tehran has recently doubled its efforts to settle the problems in Syria which 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.

Speaking to reporters at Tehran’s International Mehrabad Airport prior to his visit to Syria on Friday, Larijani said during his Middle East tour which will take him to Turkey and Lebanon as well, he will confer with his counterparts on the latest regional and international developments.

He pointed to Iran’s stance on the developments in Syria, and stated, “Unfortunately, some western countries are impeding Syria’s approach to reform, but Tehran is committed to support democratic reforms there and it is against adventurous actions.