Iran has reiterated its opposition to chemical weapons, saying Israel™s stockpile of chemical arms and weapons of mass destruction remains a source of grave concern.
œAs we have repeatedly announced, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been a victim of chemical weapons and has always expressed its opposition to weapons of mass destruction and chemical weapons,” Iran™s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham told reporters in her weekly press conference on Tuesday.
She described as a œpositive step” the decision by the Syrian government to join the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
œConcerns still remain over refusal of other countries, including the Zionist regime [of Israel], to join [the convention] and strategies must be directed in a way to allay these concerns,” Afkham added.
Israel reportedly maintains between 200 and 400 atomic warheads, but under its policy of so-called nuclear ambiguity, it has never denied nor confirmed its possession of the weapons of mass destruction.
The Iranian spokesperson also expressed concerns over armed Syrian opposition™s possession of chemical weapons, saying evidence suggests that œterrorists and Takfiri groups” possess chemical weapons in Syria.
On September 11, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said the country wants to join the Chemical Weapons Convention following a Russian proposal to Damascus to place its chemical weapons under international control.
Following Muallem™s remarks, US President Barack Obama, whose administration has been intensively campaigning for strikes on Syria, suggested that the planned strikes could be averted if the Syrian œgesture” is œreal.” He also asked the Congress to delay a scheduled vote on the strike against Syria.
Afkham further said that the world public opinion welcomes any initiative to avert a war, urging all countries to take steps responsibly in this regard.
She dismissed reports about Iran™s military presence in Syria, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic is making its utmost to prevent a war through interaction with all international bodies and opponents of war.
Afkham reaffirmed Iran™s call for political solution to the Syria crisis, adding that the Islamic Republic is ready to dispatch humanitarian aid to the crisis-stricken country.
The war rhetoric against Syria gained momentum on August 21, when the militants operating inside the country and the foreign-backed Syria opposition claimed that over a thousand people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus.
Damascus has repeatedly said the deadly attack was a false-flag operation carried out by the Takfiri groups in a bid to draw in foreign military intervention.
SF/KA/SS
Copyright: Press TV