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News ID: 53323
Publish Date : 23 May 2018 - 21:09

Syria: Iran’s Presence Not Up for Discussion

DAMASCUS (Dispatches) -- Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said on Wednesday that the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria was "not up for discussion," Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV reported.
"Whether Iranian forces or Hezbollah withdraw or stay in Syria is not up for discussion because it's the (business) of the Syrian government," the channel cited him as saying.
Washington has demanded Iran make sweeping changes -- from dropping its nuclear program to pulling out of the Syria conflict -- or face severe economic sanctions.
In Syria's seven-year-old conflict, Iran has provided vital support to President Bashar al-Assad's military. Its advisory aid and resistance forces from the region, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, helped Damascus claw back control of major cities from terrorists.
Mekdad said those who demand the pullout of the Iranian military advisers and Hezbollah forces from Syria "are considering the possibility of intervention in all parts of Syria, including the support of terrorists in Syria and elsewhere in the region.”
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened Iran with the "strongest sanctions in history” if it does not comply with a list of 12 U.S. demands, including the withdrawal of "all forces under Iranian command throughout the entirety of Syria.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin also told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month that foreign forces in Syria had to leave the Arab country because the Syrian government had succeeded in its fight against large-scale terrorism.
Russia runs a number of military bases and has been carrying out an aerial bombardment campaign on behalf of the Syrian government.
Mekdad said he "highly appreciates” the help of Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah in Syria’s battle against terrorism.
Mekdad touched on a recent U.S. statement on the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, saying, "The main goal of such statements is to pump the money out of the Arab countries” which are opposed to such pullout.  
The senior Syrian official also accused Washington of financing and supplying terrorists with arms.
He said the U.S.-led coalition operating illegally in Syria had deliberately bombed oil wells in the Arab country to render them useless for the Damascus government.
"I believe that the oxygen for terrorist groups comes from the United States,” Mekdad said, urging Washington to "stop supporting terrorists and respect Syria’s sovereignty and choice of the Syrian people.”
The U.S. has been conducting airstrikes against what it calls Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.