Iran Reaffirms Support for Syria After Zionist Airstrikes
TEHRAN -- Iran has reaffirmed support for Syria after Israeli airstrikes damaged part of the runaway and a terminal at Damascus airport on Friday.
Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian held phone talks with his Syrian counterpart Faisal al-Mekdad shortly after the aggression, saying the Islamic Republic has always stood by the Syrian government and people and will continue to do so.
The attack is a “clear violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and contrary to international law and human principles, the Iranian minister said.
Amir-Abdollahian said the silence of the international community and regional organizations in the face of the Israeli aggression is “pathetic and reprehensible”.
The Syrian foreign minister expressed his country’s gratitude to the Islamic Republic. He said the Syrian nation would sustain its resistance against the Zionist regime’s occupation and aggression.
Syria and the occupying regime of Israel are technically at war due to the latter’s 1967-present occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights.
Israeli attacks on Syria have grown significantly in scale and frequency after 2011 when Syria found itself in the grip of foreign-backed terrorism.
Referring to the Friday airstrike, Mekdad said the Zionist regime resorts to desperate attacks to disturb the calm and stability in the region so that it can deflect attention from its domestic crisis.
He said Israeli attacks on Syria aim to reinforce the remnants of takfiri terrorist outfits, such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front, but such tactics will lead to nowhere.
The attacks instead will strengthen the Syrian government and people’s resolve to confront occupation and terrorism.
Syria halted flights to and from Damascus International Airport “until further notice” on Friday after Israeli airstrikes damaged the airstrip and a terminal, the transport ministry said.
“As a result of this damage, all arriving and departing flights at the airport have been suspended until further notice,” the ministry’s second statement said.
A Syrian military official quoted by the state news agency SANA said Syrian air defenses intercepted the Israeli missiles, downing most of them, but that the early morning attack wounded one civilian and caused some material damage.