TEHRAN, September 1 (RIA Novosti) – The first-ever female spokesperson for the Islamic republic’s foreign ministry proclaimed in her inauguration speech on Sunday that Iran was opposed to any military intervention by a Western nation in the Syrian civil war.
Marzieh Afkham, who served the ministry for nearly 30 years before being appointed official spokeswoman on Thursday, called for the parties in the Syrian conflict to engage in dialogue to find a political solution and said Iran did “not intend to make any hasty judgments about the current situation.”
“We have stated numerous times that we oppose any kind of [military invention] in the region because it could entail serious repercussions; the region is volatile enough. Such [intervention] could lead to a new crisis,” Afkham said at the ceremony in Tehran.
US President Barack Obama said Saturday that his country was considering an attack on Syria that would be “limited in duration and scope.”
A day before, the United States released a report saying that Syria’s government was responsible for a chemical attack that purportedly killed hundreds of civilians in a Damascus suburb late last month, an alleged violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 on refraining from the use of such weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that allegations about the Syrian government using chemical weapons against civilians were a “provocation.”
“I am sure this was no more than a provocation by those looking to drag other countries [into the conflict],” Putin said on an official visit to Vladivostok.
“If they say that [Syrian] government forces used weapons of mass destruction … and that they have proof of it, let them present it to the [UN] Security Council,” Putin said, referring to the United States.
