No Chemical Weapon in Syrian Government’s Possession: Iranian MP
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian lawmaker said the US has used the recent chemical attack in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province as a pretext to launch missile strikes on the Arab country, while no chemical weapon is in possession of Damascus.
“The whole world knows that based on a deal with the United Nations, the Syrians have handed over all of their chemical weapons,” Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Friday.
Therefore, the Syrian government does not have chemical weapons, the lawmaker said.
Boroujerdi then questioned the logic behind possibility of the use of such weapons by the Syrian army, saying armies in the world usually use such weapons at a time when they feel defeated, this is while, the Syrian army is in best conditions; Aleppo has been liberated and the government forces are recapturing other areas.
The US military attacked the Syrian government’s Shayrat Airfield near Homs with 59 tomahawk missiles on Friday.
Officially announcing the strike, US President Donald Trump claimed that the targeted airfield had launched the chemical attack on the rebel-held area in Idlib.
Earlier on Thursday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said the country’s armed forces "did not and will not" use chemical weapons, even against extremist groups.
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.