US failed to rally support for attack on Syria

An Iranian lawmaker says the United States has failed to rally support for a military strike against Syria, noting that US officials are well aware of the fact that such an action will bring Israel under fire.

Deputy chairman of Iran Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Mansour Haqiqatpour said on Wednesday that Americans could not create the necessary consensus at home and abroad for an attack on Syria and view Russia’s plan for Syria to place its chemical arsenal under international control as a favorable opportunity to retreat.

“Americans have realized that if they make a mistake, their hostage in the region, namely, the Zionist regime (of Israel), will perish under the fatal fire of the resistance front and Syria,” he pointed out.

Haqiqatpour further noted that the lack of domestic and international support for a US attack on Syria shows the failure of unilateralism in the world.

“The strategic alliance among Iran, China and Russia heralds the end of a unipolar world and the move towards a multipolar one,” he added.

The Russian initiative came shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in London that the only way for Syria to avert a US military action is to hand over its entire stockpile of chemical weapons.

The US has based its recent threat of striking Syria on the unsubstantiated accusation that the Syrian government was behind a chemical attack near Damascus on August 21. The Syrian government has categorically rejected the allegation.

The White House, however, says it has no “irrefutable” evidence of the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons and that only a “strong common-sense test irrespective of the intelligence” suggests the Syrian army was responsible for the August poison gas attack.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. The United Nations has reported that more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence.