Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the resurgence of Takfiri terrorism in northern Syria is part of an American-Israeli project that aims to spread insecurity in the West Asia region.
In a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, Araghchi said the international community bears responsibility for combating the vicious scourge of terrorism.
He added that Iran, Russia and regional countries, particularly Syria’s neighboring states, must maintain vigilance and improve coordination to “thwart this dangerous plot and counter terrorists’ measures in Syria.”
The Russian foreign minister, for his part, briefed his Iranian counterpart on his assessment of the latest developments in Syria.
Lavrov called on all sides to take more coordinated steps to combat terrorism and urged close consultations between Tehran and Moscow.
The top Iranian and Russian diplomats reaffirmed their countries’ firm support for Syria’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the Arab country’s government and army in their fight against terrorist groups.
Araghchi and Lavrov stressed the importance of pursuing the issue within the framework of the Astana talks and emphasized that Iran, Russia and Turkey are required to hold more coordination as the guarantors of the Astana peace process.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allied terrorist factions advanced into sections of Syria’s second-largest city of Aleppo on Friday, seizing areas including al-Hamdaniyah, al-Furqan, and al-Zahraa after two days of heavy clashes, according to local sources. However, Syrian forces quickly launched counter-operations to repel them.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitor, said Russian warplanes had launched raids on areas of Aleppo city for the first time since 2016 to stop terrorist advances.
Local media said on Saturday that the Syrian Army forces continue to repel attacks by foreign-backed terrorist groups in the country’s northwestern areas.
The Syrian military, backed by Russian air power, launched retaliatory strikes against terrorist positions on the outskirts of Aleppo and the eastern countryside of Idlib.
