Ayatollah Khamenei counted it as a pitfall in Washington’s policies the USA insistence that Syria’s democratically elected president Bashar al-Assad step down; “the U.S. should not have such a right to turn a blind eye on the votes Syrians of all religious and ethnic groups, cast in ballots for Assad”, he objected.
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Putin, who will attend a summit of gas exporting countries on Monday in Tehran, is also expected to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and to discuss the Syria conflict. Iran has been a key backer of Assad since the 2011 uprising against his rule that started the war, and Iranian forces have played a prominent role in supporting the Syrian army in a renewed ground offensive in the country’s strategically vital west.
For Russia, defending Assad and confronting IS has become more important since the militants blew up a Russian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on October 31, killing all 224 on board.
The Turkmen leader voiced uneasiness about Russian Federation using the Caspian Sea for a few of the strikes on Syria, but Putin said using the Caspian would continue “for as long as we see necessary to punish the culprits” behind the plane attack.
Tehran, meanwhile, has provided its Damascus ally with financial and military aid, including advisers from its elite Revolutionary Guards.
Russian Federation says it will help Iran’s export of enriched uranium and modification of nuclear facilities at Arak and Fordo.
The former Soviet Union was the first state to recognise Iran as an Islamic republic after the 1979 revolution, though Moscow later provided Saddam Hussein with weapons during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
Russian Federation and Iran signed a contract for Moscow to supply Tehran with S-300 surface-to-air missile systems on November 9.
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“This is a threat to all countries, especially Russian Federation and Iran”. Last week, global Atomic Energy Agency officials reported Iran had accelerated compliance with other parts of the agreement, including a reduction in installed enrichment technology.
