Iran Resolved to Continue Supporting Resistance Front: Velayati

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s stance is unchanging and that is providing full and continued support for the Resistance line, which begins from Iran and passes through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and reaches Palestine,” Velayati told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday after his meeting with former prime minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki.

“Given that Syria is an important link in the chain of Resistance, the Islamic Republic of Iran has sided with the country’s people and government since the very beginning of the regional and international conspiracy against Syria, and will continue to do so,” he stressed.

Velyati, who is a top adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, further highlighted Tehran’s stance on the Syrian people’s self-determination, saying that no other country has the right to make decisions for them.

Elsewhere, he pointed to joint efforts made by Iran and Russia to help resolve the prolonged Syrian crisis and said the two countries have always coordinated with each other in this regard.

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.

In the meantime, Iran and Russia have remained close allies of Syria and support its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.