Resistance axis must block US influence in region: Velayati

Senior Iranian official says the main duty of the resistance axis in the region is to block the influence of the United States, warning of the US plots to sow discord among Muslim countries.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, made the remarks during an address to the opening ceremony of the eighth General Assembly of Islamic Radio and Television Union in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Sunday.

The Iranian official said the duty of the resistance axis, including countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine “is not only to fight against the dominance of foreigners in their countries,” but also to cut the influence of the US in the region.

Velayati also stated that Washington’s plot is to instigate conflict among different groups and sects in Muslim countries, calling for a united front against this plot.

He further noted that mercenaries are currently fighting in Muslim countries to materialize the goals of the United States, adding that people in Iraq, Syria and other Muslim countries will stand against those mercenaries.

Velayati said hegemonic powers’ dream of splitting Muslim countries, particularly Iraq and Syria, will never come true.

He noted that the US failed in its military aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq, adding that Washington and its allies now plan to partition Syria.

“Syria is the golden ring of resistance against the Zionists,” the Iranian official said, adding that the US and its allies have not succeeded in achieving their goals in the Arab country because of the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad and the resistance of the Syrian nation.

The conflict in Syria has claimed more than 240,000 lives since March 2011.

The Iranian official also referred to the developments in Yemen, emphasizing that the US and its allies plan to divide the impoverished Arab country as well.

Velayati censured the international community for remaining silent on the killing of Yemeni people in airstrikes by Saudi Arabia, which started on March 26 – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, an ally of Riyadh.

The UN says the conflict in Yemen has killed over 4,000 people, nearly half of them civilians, since late March. Local Yemeni sources, however, say the fatality figure is much higher.