“The terrorists fighting in Syria today are forces of Saudi Arabia or the Americans or even reactionary forces in the region”, he said.
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Earlier, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said his country was ready to deploy its special task force in Syria in case the global coalition took a decision to launch a ground operation in that country.
Saudi Arabia is to deploy military jets and personnel to Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base in the south of the country, Ankara said.
However, Saudi Col. Ibrahim Al-Marie had denied last week any link between the exercises and Saudi Arabia’s coming intervention in Syria, emphasizing that the exercises are meant to be part of the region’s defensive, not offensive, mission. The agreement between the U.S., Russia and other major powers with interests in Syria provides for a “cessation of hostilities”, however, a Russian commitment to cease its bombing campaign against Syrian opposition forces was noticeably absent.
The official Saudi SPA news agency said the missile was destroyed by the kingdom’s air defences at around 2145 (1845 GMT) on Saturday, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from its border with Yemen.
“Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners, as well as their United States supplier, are blatantly disregarding the global standard that says cluster munitions should never be used under any circumstances”, said Steve Goose, director of Human Rights Watch’s Arms Division and co-chair of the worldwide Cluster Munition Coalition. He stressed that Saudi Arabia made its decision in coordination with the coalition and a ground operation was being planned.
The oil-rich nation is leading an assault on anti-government Houthi rebels in its southern neighbor Yemen, where it has been joined by allies Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
“Today, with the victories of the Syrian army and the popular forces, they want to send troops to Syria, but it is a bluff and a psychological war”, Jazayeri said. “But…if such an operation is to take place, it has to be carried out jointly, like the [coalition] air strikes”, he said.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been part of a U.S.-led coalition, which has been striking ISIL positions in Syria since late 2014.
“The Saudi gamble ironically fits neatly with the strategy of the Russian and Iranian-backed regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad”.
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Syria’s ally Iran, which has sent thousands of “military advisers” into Syria, warned Tuesday that the deployment of Saudi troops would violate “international law”.
