No Evidence of Chemical Attack in Syria: Iran’s Velayati
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian delegation that recently visited Syria’s Eastern Ghouta near capital Damascus did not find any evidence that chemical attacks may have occurred in that area, top Iranian official Ali Akbar Velayati said.
The aftereffects of a chemical attack would remain in the area for a long period, but an Iranian delegation that paid a recent visit to Eastern Ghouta near the Syrian capital did not find any evidence of a suspected gas attack that Westerners have blamed on the Syrian government, Velayati told reporters after a meeting with a ranking Chinese diplomat in Tehran on Sunday.
On April 11, Velayati and his entourage visited Eastern Ghouta and the underground tunnels used by Takfiri terrorists in the almost fully liberated region near Damascus.
Velayati also denounced the accusation of the Syrian government’s involvement in a chemical attack as a pretext for aggression, which he said results from defeat of the West-backed mercenaries in the Arab country.
In the early hours of Saturday, the US, Britain and France launched a barrage of missile attacks against Syria in response to what they claim to be a chemical attack in Douma. Syria has rejected any role in the suspected gas attack.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Velayati, an international advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, played down the significance of an ongoing Arab League summit initiated by Saudi Arabia, saying such meetings lack any political or international credibility.
The Arab League summit is going to conclude with an “unimportant statement from a shaky government”, he added.
Saudi Arabia, which has welcomed the US-led strikes on Syria, is hosting the 29th Arab League summit.