Iranian official visits Ghouta, vows to ‘stand by’ Syria amid threats from US

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iran on Wednesday said it would support Syria against “any foreign aggression” amid threats from the United States and its allies of an airstrike on the site where an alleged chemical attack was launched in Eastern Ghouta.

During his visit to the Damascus suburb, Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said his country would not be silent after US President Donald Trump warned of imminent missile strikes on Syria. Washington has blamed the Syrian regime for the chemical attack over the weekend.

“We will stand by Syria’s government against any foreign aggression,” Velayati said, adding that Tehran backs Damascus in its fight against the US and Israel.

“The enemies know that they will not make any progress in Syria or in the region, as they have been unable to do so during the past seven years,” he stated.

The Iranian official was visiting Syrian forces and commanders in the region who briefed him on the latest military developments in the country, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

The poison gas attack, blamed on the Syrian regime—who Russia backs in the ongoing civil war in the country—sparked an aggressive response from the US, the United Kingdom, and France who are all opposed to President Bashar al-Assad and Moscow’s support for him.

Earlier today, Trump warned he would fire missiles at the Syrian base where the chemical weapons were launched while Russia said they would intercept any such attack.

In a press conference on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the decision to launch strikes in Syria would “not target allies of the regime or attack anyone but rather attack the regime’s chemical capabilities.”

Velayati’s threats toward Israel, meanwhile, come after at least seven Iranian military personnel were killed in an airstrike on a Syrian airbase after the chemical attack in Ghouta.

The Kremlin, in a statement, said President Vladimir Putin spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone on Wednesday where Putin “underscored the principal importance of observing the sovereignty of Syria.”

Two warplanes, believed to belong to Israel, attacked the T-4 airbase in the Homs governorate on April 9, the Russian Ministry of Defense had reported.

Israel has yet to deny or confirm responsibility for the attack.