Velayati: Attack on Syria Attack on Iran, US Weaker

Local Editor


Iran would consider any attack on Syria an attack on itself, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Saturday.

The aide to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, confirmed that "Syria has a very basic and key role in the region for promoting firm policies of resistance."
"For this reason an attack on Syria would be considered an attack on Iran and Iran's allies," he added, and noted that "if Syria had not provided logistical support for Hizbullah and Hamas, they would have failed to achieve victory in "Israel's" 33-day and 22-day war."

Meanwhile, Velayati emphasized that Western countries and reactionary regional states, which oppose resistance against the Zionists, attacked the "golden resistance chain" by waging an war on Syria.

The senior Iranian official reaffirmed the country's foreign policy on support for Palestine, the Lebanese resistance, Syria and a popular government in Iraq.
"The maintenance of the resistance chain is the objective," Velayati pointed out.

In remarks to Mehr news agency, Velayati denied that he held talks with the Americans neither in Oman nor any other country.
"This rumor is basically nothing but a lie," he added, reiterating that "no talks have been held so far with the US on a legal basis and with the Leader's permission."
In parallel, the Iranian official emphasized that the US should "definitely make a revision in its policies" and said, "The nuclear issue is our strategic issue. The Islamic Republic of Iran will never give up its right to peaceful nuclear energy."

Velayati further added that there is consensus on Iran's nuclear energy program "which is a national issue" and warned that if the US and its allies seek to monopolize nuclear energy, they will use it as a tool to exploit Third World countries.
He noted that US policies in the region have reached an impasse and expressed confidence that Washington would not repeat its experience of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in Iran.

"Today, the US is weaker than the US at a time when it attacked Iraq and Afghanistan and Iran is currently far stronger than Iraq and Afghanistan," the senior Iranian official pointed out.

He said that the US suffered defeats in wars on Iraq and Afghanistan with significant human and financial loss, adding American officials would not think of an attack on Iran if they were wise.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org