Iranian MP Opposes Establishment of Transitional Government in Syria

A senior Iranian legislator underlined the necessity of a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria, and said formation of a transitional government in the Arab country is not what the Syrian people demand.

The remarks were made on Monday by member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mehdi Davatgari in reaction to a recently held anti-Syria meeting in Doha.

“Establishing any transitional government is against the popular demands in Syria. Transition of power in this country should be peaceful and take place through the participation of people in elections without any intervention from foreign elements,” the Iranian lawmaker said.

The four-day anti-Syria meeting in Doha wraps up on Thursday.

During the meeting, divisions and power disputes arose among the foreign-backed Syrian opposition groups who met in Qatar’s capital, Doha, a meeting which left little or no chance for the formation of a new council comprising representatives of all groups.

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.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

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.

According to the report, material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border.

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.