US-Led Strike on Syria Aimed at Helping Terrorists: Iran’s Larijani

Speaking at an open session of the parliament on Sunday, Larijani deplored the Saturday attack by the US, the UK and France against Syria and said the three countries claimed that the Damascus government has used chemical weapons.

This is while, the Syrian and Russian governments have dismissed the claim and called on the international bodies to probe into the allegation, he added.

“…Why has such an attack been organized without complying with the (international) norms?” Larijani stated.

He further pointed to the reason behind the US-led missile attack and said the Syrian army had cleaned the suburbs of Damascus from terrorists and the Saudis, who were supporting them, persuaded the US to change the situation and “revive the strongholds of the terrorists”.

The United States and European allies launched airstrikes on Saturday against Syrian research, storage and military targets under the pretext of a suspected chemical attack near Damascus last weekend that killed more than 40 people.

Britain and France joined the United States in the strikes in a coordinated operation that was intended to show Western resolve in the face of what the leaders of the three nations called persistent violations of international law.

Trump characterized it as the beginning of a sustained effort to force Assad to “stop using banned weapons”, but only ordered a limited, one-night operation that hit three targets, New York Times reported.

“These are not the actions of a man,” Trump said of last weekend’s attack in a televised address from the White House Diplomatic Room. “They are crimes of a monster instead.”

Shortly after the attack, the Syrian presidency posted on Twitter, “Honorable souls cannot be humiliated.”

Within 90 minutes, the Russian ambassador to the US warned of “consequences” for the allied attacks.