Speaking during a press conference in Beirut-Rafic Hariri worldwide Airport, Lebanon, Zarif said he will discuss “security and stability in the region” with Lebanese officials.
Advertisement
The rebel shelling, apparently meant to send a message that Zarif was not welcome in Syria, began around the morning rush hour in Damascus with more than 50 shells striking the capital, including in the upper-class neighborhoods of Abu Rummaneh, Baramkeh and Qasaa.
In July, Iran reached the conclusion of the nuclear agreement with six world powers including the United States.
Iran has recently proposed an initiative for a political solution in Syria, starting with establishing an immediate cease-fire, forming a national unity government, rewriting the constitution, and conducting legislative elections under worldwide supervision.
Iran and Turkey, who support opposing sides in the Syrian civil war, negotiated a 48-hour ceasefire on August. 12 after a month of behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Pro-Iranian Shiite militias from a number of countries, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, have been critical to shoring up the country’s overstretched armed forces.
The completion of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project will help Pakistan overcome its energy shortage, Prime Minister Sharif was quoted as saying.
The Syrian government has described the group as its main ally in the fight against the insurgents battling to topple Assad.
Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham told official news agency IRNA that Zarif’s visit to Beirut would include discussions on “bilateral issues, regional events, and the terrorism and extremism crisis”.
Turkish officers say Iranian Overseas Minister Jawad Zarif has postponed his go to to Turkey.
More than 240,000 people have been killed in Syria’s conflict since it broke out in March 2011, and millions have been forced to flee their homes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 120 people were injured in the raids, several of them seriously, and that the death toll was likely to rise.
Advertisement
The air raids hit the towns of Douma, Saqba, Kafr Batna and Hammouriyeh in the rebel stronghold region outside the capital. The Observatory said the rebel rockets on the capital killed one person and wounded 20 others, while army airstrikes killed around 30 people in nearby rebel-held areas.
