Iran President Rouhani: Arabs, West Miscalculated in Syria

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Arab and Western governments of miscalculating in their backing for Syrian militants as the US-led coalition gathered in Paris Tuesday.

Speaking at a reception for Syria’s visiting parliament speaker Jihad al-Lahham, President Rouhani said it was those governments’ support for armed insurgency against Syria that had led to the rise of the terrorists.

“Unfortunately some countries miscalculated and thought that terrorist groups would be a means for them to achieve their objectives, whereas sooner or later they were always going to be affected by the scourge of terrorism themselves,” he said.

“After four years of resistance and perseverance, the plan of the enemies of Syria who thought they could dominate it within a few months has fallen apart,” government website www.dolat.ir quoted him as saying.

“The government and nation of Iran will stand by the government and nation of Syria till the end.”

The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, echoed the president’s comments in his talks with Lahham.

“Syria is the front line of defense of Islamic lands against… an unbridled wave of takfiri (Sunni extremist) terrorism and weakening it would bring about… an uncontrollable situation for all neighboring and regional countries,” state media quoted him as saying.