Iran FM: Syria facing difficult test by terrorists, aggressors
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Syria was facing a tough test, highlighting threats posed by terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and Daesh as well as the Israeli-US aggression.
“Today, Syria faces a difficult test. The threat posed by the movements of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Daesh has heightened regional concerns, raising fears that the terrorists may turn Syria into their safe haven,” wrote Araghchi in a note published by the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar on Saturday.
A senior UAE official also said on Saturday that his government had concerns about the affiliation of the Syrian militants with some radical groups.
“We hear some reasonable, rational language about unity, not imposing a system on all Syrians” from the country’s new rulers, said Anwar Gargash, a presidential adviser in the United Arab Emirates, in remarks at the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi.
But the nature of the new forces, the affiliation with radical groups, “I think these are all indicators that are quite worrying,” he said.
Israel’s military aggression
Elsewhere in his comments, the Iranian foreign minister said that the “acts of aggression and military interventions” by the Israeli regime in Syria, which he said are backed by the US and allies from outside the region, have also created challenges.
“The clear objective of these acts of aggression and interventions is the destruction of Syria’s social foundations, scientific assets, economic infrastructure, and defensive capabilities,” he said.
“There is no doubt that the Islamic world is extremely worried about the future of the West Asian region, given the conditions that the Levant and Palestine are in,” he added.
The minister touched on the expansion of the Israeli regime’s “barbaric crimes,” and their extension to Syria, which began immediately after the fall of the Assad government.