Iranian leaders have threatened to fan “the flames of outrage” against Israel in case of a US-led military strike against Syria. Lawmakers in Tehran also issued warnings to the United States and its allies on Tuesday as Western countries were planning a military intervention in Syria. Washington, London and Paris have said there was undeniable evidence that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons against civilians last week, killing hundreds of people, including many children.
Tehran has been a loyal ally of the Syrian government. Iranian hard-liners often say Syria is Iran’s first trench in a potential war with hostile Western powers. Iran has blamed Israel for the conflict in Syria, saying Israel was planning to topple Assad. “In case of a US military strike against Syria, the flames of outrage of the region’s revolutionaries will point toward the Zionist regime,” the Iranian news agency ‘Fars’ quoted Mansur Haqiqatpur, an influential member of the Majlis, Iran's legislature, as saying on Tuesday, according to the ‘New York Times’.
A potential military intervention by the United States in Syria also represents a test for Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, who condemned the use of chemical weapons on his Twitter account on Monday, but stopped short of blaming either side in the Syrian conflict.
Also on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, said that Iran condemned the use of chemical weapons by any group. He added that Tehran had pressed Damascus to assist the United Nations weapons inspectors who are in Syria presently to conduct an inquiry into the chemical weapons attack.
Iran is working in close coordination with the Lebanese movement Hezbollah. Both regard Israel as a common enemy, and have been heavily engaged in helping Assad in the Syria conflict.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, meeting with visiting Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said of Oman in Tehran on Monday, predicted the Syrian conflict would escalate far beyond its borders if other regional nations continued to aid the Syrian opposition.
“Their supporters must know that this fire will finally engulf them as well,” Khamenei was quoted by the ‘Mehr’ news agency as saying.
