Leader: Intervention in Syria to Do Harm to US
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Military intervention in Syria will be harmful to the US, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei underlined, and noted that meddling of trans-regional countries in the region will only result in more antipathy towards them.
“If such a move (possible attack on Syria) takes place, the Americans will surely suffer losses just like (their) interference in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday, addressing Iranian cabinet members here in Tehran.
The Leader also described the US possible military interference in Syria as “a disaster for the region,” adding, ”Trans-regional and foreign powers’ interference in a country will result in nothing but igniting fire, and will also increase the nations’ aversion to them (meddling countries).”
“Such fire is like a spark in a powder keg, whose aftermath and ramification will be unclear,” Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.
“The region is passing through sensitive and critical days,” the Leader cautioned.
The remarks by Ayatollah Khamenei came while the US and some of its western allies have announced their readiness to hit Syria, on the pretext of suspected chemical attack by the Syrian government.
Earlier, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed western allegations that he used chemical weapons as politically motivated and warned Washington any US military intervention would fail.
"Failure awaits the United States as in all previous wars it has unleashed, starting with Vietnam and up to the present day," he said on Monday.
Assad also said Syrian government forces had been close to where rebel forces say chemical weapons were used last week. "Would any state use chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction in a place where its own forces are concentrated? That would go against elementary logic," Assad stated.
In a separate development, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem also called on western governments to provide evidence that the government had used chemical weapons.
"I challenge all countries who (are) saying that Syria used chemical weapons to present their evidence to their public opinion," he said.
The White House announced on Tuesday that Barack Obama had still not made a decision about the use of military action, but added that use of ground forces was out of the question. "The options that we are considering are not about regime change," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
