Iranian MP: Assad’s Re-Election, Victory of Syrians’ Will over Terrorists

The presidential election in Syria was held in “a completely free atmosphere” and under the supervision of international journalists, Vice Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mansour Haqiqatpour told the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday.

“Bashar al-Assad's victory in the election, on the one hand, is a result of his resistance to the terrorists and withstanding the superpowers, and on the other hand signifies the victory of Syrian people’s resolve over the ochlocrats and terrorists in that country,” he stated.

The Iranian MP also censured the supporters of terrorist groups in Syria, emphasizing that they should be aware that the terrorists will one day return to their own countries and trigger crisis there as well.

“Americans must have understood that they have faced failure in Syria, like in Afghanistan and Iraq, and they had better give up interfering in Syria's affairs and take care of their own internal affairs and problems,” Haqiqatpour noted.

Assad secured 88.7 percent of votes cast in the election, which was held in the government-held areas covering nearly 80% of the territory.

Syria's constitutional court earlier said that turnout in the June 3 election and a previous round of voting for Syrian expatriates and refugees stood at 73 percent.

Despite the high turnout figures, residents of some areas in the country’s north and east were obstructed from voting by rebel forces.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. The UN says more than 130,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the unrest in 2011. More than 2.2 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries while an estimated 4.25 million have been displaced internally.