DUBAI – Iran warned against foreign intervention in Syria on Sunday and said the conflict there could engulf Israel, Iranian media said.
Iran Parliament’s Speaker Ali Larijani accused the United States and regional countries he did not name of providing military support to rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.
Syria has accused Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of backing rebels in Syria and fuelling violence there. Iran has supported Assad’s efforts to crush the 17-month revolt and has accused Western countries and Israel of interfering in the crisis.
“The fire that has been ignited in Syria will take the fearful (Israelis) with it,” Larijani said on Sunday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency .
“What really allows these countries to interfere in internal Syrian affairs?” Larijani was quoted as saying. Larijani is considered a moderate conservative and a close follower of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful man in Iran who decides foreign policy. Larijani is also a critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and widely expected to run for president in 2013.
Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, a key ally of Khamenei and father-in-law to the paramount leader’s son, Mojtaba, said on Sunday the people of Syria should not allow the United States and Israel to break the “resistance front”, IRNA reported.
