US president should change approach to Middle East

A member of Iran Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy says the US President Barack Obama should change his approach to the Middle East.

“Supporting terrorists and the fake Zionist regime [of Israel] which is a major threat to the region will only stoke crises in the Middle East and if the United States does not change its policies in this region, it will be faced with major challenges,” Seyyed Baqer Hosseini said on Saturday.

He also pointed to Obama’s State of the Union Address on February 12 and added that in his speech, the US president once again revealed his dual policies with regards to Syria.

In his State of the Union Address, Obama announced plans for a trip to the Middle East next month with the aim of keeping the pressure on the Syrian government, supporting Syrian opposition and standing steadfast with Israel.

“Despite the ongoing discussions about talks between the Syrian government and its opponents, the US president is trying to prevent negotiations between Syrian groups by his seditious speech,” Hosseini pointed out.

He also noted that it is not unusual for the US president to be protective of Israel’s security as the US president is elected under the direct influence of the Zionist lobby.

The Iranian lawmaker further stated that keeping pressure on the government of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and backing its opponents is indicative of the United States’ policy of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.