Iran’s Hague embassy slams chemical weapons use in Syria

Iran’s embassy in The Hague has strongly denounced the use of chemical weapons by the foreign-backed militants in the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, urging an “impartial and technical” investigation into the issue.

“The deployment of chemical weapons is a painful event and as the biggest victim of the use of such weapons at the current era, the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons by armed groups and reminds relevant countries about their responsibility,” the Iranian embassy said in a statement.

It added that countries which are supporting armed groups in Syria are accountable for the “inhumane measure” of deploying chemical weapons in the Arab state.

It called on all countries to condemn the “anti-humane crime” and fulfill their responsibility to prevent the use of chemical weapons in the future.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly warned against the use of chemical weapons and highlighted the significance of adopting “precautionary and preventive” measures by relevant countries to prevent the access of the armed opposition groups in Syria to such arms, the statement pointed out.

At least 25 people were killed and 86 others injured after militants fired missiles containing poisonous gas into Aleppo’s Khan al-Assal village on March 19. Women and children were among the victims.

The attack came after Syria’s opposition coalition, known as the Syrian National Coalition, chose a Syrian-born American citizen, Ghassan Hitto, as the prime minister of what they call an interim government.

The Syrian crisis began in mid-March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of security personnel, have been killed in the violence, and several international human rights organizations say the foreign-sponsored militants have committed war crimes.

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 fighting the Syrian government are foreign nationals.