Iran role in finding Syria solution essential: Hamas official

Osama Hamdan, head of Hamas’s international relations, made the remark in a meeting with Iran's Ambassador to Beirut Ghazanfar Roknabadi on Saturday.

He referred to the critical situation in the region and said, “The US and Israel seek to tamper with the transition period [of regional revolutions] to change the future fate of the uprisings as well as the Islamic Awakening to benefit them (the US and Israel).”

He said regional equations are expected to go under significant changes as the result of the revolutions, which will not be to the interests of the US and Israel.

The Hamas official questioned the US claim of advocating democracy in Syria and said, “The US is not concerned about Syrians and only seeks to guarantee the security and survival of Israel.”

The Iranian ambassador for his part called on political leaders and nations in the region to remain vigilant and prevent the US-Israel schemes from harming the interests of regional nations and the resistance movement.

Referring to the six-point plan by Kofi Anna, the joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Roknabadi said Western countries along with their Arab allies made every effort to bring the plan to deadlock and held those who provide weapons to armed groups accountable for insecurity in Syria.

He said the US was only thinking of ensuring Israel’s security and warned regional nations against falling into the traps set by the West.

Annan’s plan on Syria, effective from mid-April, calls for the establishment of a ceasefire between the government and the opposition, allowing humanitarian groups to access the population, releasing detainees and starting a political dialogue.

Syria has been the scene of unrest since mid-March 2011 with demonstrations being held both against and in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing protesters, but Damascus blames ''outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups'' for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.