US Attack on Syria Strategic Mistake, Boost Terrorism: Iran Leader

“What the Americans did was a strategic mistake and error and they are repeating the [same] mistakes as their predecessors,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on Sunday.
 
“Former American officials created ISIS [terrorists] or helped them, and the current officials are also strengthening ISIS or a group similar to it,” the Leader added.
 
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei warned that the threat posed by such terrorist groups would backfire on Americans in the future, adding, “Europe is currently in trouble for the wrong step that it took for bolstering Takfiris, and [European] people are not secure at [their] homes and on the street, and America is repeating the same wrong step.”
 
The Leader then noted that the Americans were quite apt to committing crimes and acts of aggression as they had already carried out such measures in other parts of the world.
 
Ayatollah Khamenei said some Western countries fully supported the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, during the eight-year imposed war against Iran (1980-88), adding that “hypocrite” European governments, which are now claiming that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, gave tons of chemical weapons to Saddam to use them in attacking the Iranian city of Sardasht and the Iraqi city of Halabjah.
 
Ayatollah Khamenei also warned against the enemy’s plot to undermine the morale of the Iranian officials, nation and the Armed Forces, saying that the enemy was trying to create a feeling of weakness among Iranians through psychological tactics.
 
However, the Leader stated, the Islamic Republic has proved that it would not succumb to any unfounded remarks and wrong measures taken by enemies, and the Iranian officials and people, who believe in the Islamic Revolution, would not yield to threats due to their trust in God.
 
President Iran condemns missile attack as violation of international law
 
Presidents of Iran and Russia say the US missile attack on a Syrian airfield was a violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.
 
In a phone call on Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of further supporting the Syrian people in their fight against Takfiri terrorists.
 
“We condemn the US missile attacks on Syria and regard them as a case of explicit violation of the sovereignty of an independent country,” the Iranian president said.
 
“It is imperative that this unilateral US move be discussed and condemned at the United Nations Security Council,” he added.
 
He also deplored the use of chemical arms in Syria, saying, “Reports indicate that terrorists have access to chemical weapons and the US strikes will prompt terrorist groups to use chemical weapons once again.”
 
At least 86 people were killed in a gas attack in the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib Province. Anti-Damascus militants and Western countries rushed to blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the incident, without providing any evidence to support their accusations.
 
Rouhani emphasized that the US airstrikes against Syria were an attempt to strengthen terrorists and lashed out at some regional countries for their support for Washington’s move.
 
“We should not allow the path created in the fight against terrorism to change through some countries’ support for the recent US measure,” the Iranian president pointed out.
 
He reiterated Tehran’s stance that the crisis in Syria can only be solved through political and not military approaches and expressed the Islamic Republic’s readiness to hold consultation and cooperation with Russia on the battle against terrorists.
 
He warned that the US attacks would create a rift among countries in fighting against terrorism and divert the political negotiations about Syria into a military direction.
 
The Russian president, for his part, condemned the US strikes against Syria as an unacceptable move and a bid to support terrorists.
 
He said the United Nations has acknowledged that the Syrian government does not possess chemical weapons, adding that Washington’s missile strikes were a pre-planned move which would fail to help solve the Syrian crisis.
 
Putin called for the strengthening of unilateral and multilateral cooperation among Iran and regional countries to fight terrorists.
 
US warships deployed to the eastern Mediterranean launched a barrage of 59 Tomahawk missiles against Shayrat Airfield, southeast of the western Syrian city of Homs, on Friday.
 
Washington ordered the assault after accusing the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad of carrying out a chemical attack against Khan Shaykhun.