Iran’s Velayati Calls US, Saudi Interference in Syria ‘Illegal’
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Strategic Research Center of Iran’s Expediency Council Ali Akbar Velayati slammed the US and Saudi governments for their meddling in war-hit Syria without the consent of the Arab country’s legitimate government.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran after a Saturday meeting with Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, the vice president of Cuba’s Council of Ministers and Executive Committee, Velayati pointed to the protracted crisis in Syria and said deciding on the future of the Arab country is upon its people and no other country has the right to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs.
If there would be any intervention, it should be based on the viewpoint of the legitimate government of Syria, he stated.
“The presence of countries like the US and Saudi Arabia, which interfere in Syria without the consent of its government, is illegal,” said Velayati, who is also an international adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.
He further pledged Tehran’s unwavering support for Damascus, saying that the Islamic Republic, whose stance on the issue has never changed, will continue backing the legitimate government of Syria.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
Tehran insists that the Syrian nation is the only side that has the right to shape the future of its own country, rejecting foreign intervention with the use of force.