US Lying about Chemical Attack in Syria: Iranian Cleric
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian cleric said the US military has launched a missile attack on the Syrian government under the pretext of a suspected chemical attack in the Arab country’s Idlib province, while the US, itself, has provided terrorists in Syria with chemical weapons.
“You (the west) have created them (terrorists) and you have given the chemical (weapons) to them,” Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani said in a speech, addressing a huge gathering of worshippers here in Tehran on Friday.
“What a crazy world” that the US can easily lie about the chemical attack and the world accept the falsehood, the cleric noted.
The US military attacked the Syrian government’s Shayrat Airfield near Homs with 59 tomahawk missiles on Friday morning, Syria time.
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.
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.