Spokeswoman Denies Iran’s Military Presence in Syria

Iran has no military presence in the crisis-hit Syria, said Marziyeh Afkham in her weekly press conference, when asked about Iran-Syria cooperation in defense fields.

Referring to the humanitarian assistance provided by Iran for Syria as well as Tehran’s intensified diplomatic efforts to end war in the Arab country, Afkham stressed that crisis in Syria “should be resolved through political initiatives.”

She also cautioned about terrorist acts carried out by extremist Takfiri groups in Syria and stated that there is strong negative feelings in the region against these terrorist groups.

On Sunday, an Iranian lawmaker said the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic efforts and political consultations at international levels were among major factors that contributed to prevention of an imminent military assault against Syria.

The whole series of Iran’s diplomatic efforts had a positive impact to avert a military attack on Syria, Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, a member of Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission told Tasnim at the time.

Naqavi Hosseini added that Tehran has been always after a political solution to the prolonged conflict in Syria and has had consultations with different countries to that end.

Iran, one of Syria's major supporters, believes that intervention of foreign governments has only worsened the crisis and that arming the rebels further inflames the tensions, and has called on all Syrian sides to sit together to find a negotiated settlement for a conflict that can rip apart the social and economic fabric of the Syrian society.

The US had been pressing for military action on Syria since a suspected chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21, which it blamed on the forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The government of Syria has denied involvement and said the rebels were responsible.
US President Barack Obama, however, stopped short of ordering a strike recently and said he would seek the endorsement of Congress for any assault on Syria.

But a proposal by Russia, one of Damascus's main international supporters, to put Syria's chemical weapons arsenal under international control, made US President Barack Obama hold off on striking Syria and helped him avoid an embarrassing rejection from Congress, or a military action detested by the public.