Iran rejects claim on meddling in Syria

Khazaei told reporters after a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday that Iran followed a policy of non-interference and said, “Tehran has no military or financial interference in other countries” including Syria.

“We have always supported the [joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria] Kofi Annan’s six-point plan as the best solution to resolve the Syrian crisis and we call for an end to the violence in the country,” he added.

He criticized certain foreign countries for supplying Syrian rebels with weapons and said, “Funneling arms and money [into Syria] will stoke insecurity in the country,” adding that it would be impossible to implement reforms as long as violence persisted.

He called on all countries to support the full implementation of Annan’s peace plan as the best way out of the current crisis.

Syria has been the scene of unrest since mid-March, 2011.

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.

In response to a question about the US opposition to Iran’s participation in an international conference on Syria in Geneva, the Iranian envoy said that it was a “strategic mistake” to ignore Iran’s constructive role in the region.

“A very important fact that cannot be ignored by anyone is the influence and constructive role that the Islamic Republic of Iran has in the region, so if some powers do not want to benefit from this influence and constructive role, it’s their problem and this is another indication of neglecting the realities on the ground,” he added.

The Geneva meeting will gather foreign ministers of all the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and several regional countries.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Annan himself, and Russian President Vladimir Putin have all said that Iran should be part of the meeting.

AR/GHN/MA

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