Iran condemns Israeli air strike on Syrian territory

TEHRAN,Feb.2(MNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Thursday strongly condemned an Israeli air strike a day earlier on a defense research center near Damascus, saying the act of aggression was a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Arab country. “Undoubtedly, this blatant act of aggression was in line with the policy of the West and the Zionists to take evasive action to overshadow the achievements of the Syrian government and people in consolidating the country’s sovereignty and bringing stability and security to the country,” Salehi said. “The move proved the rightfulness of the support of the Syrian government and people for the resistance and their hostility toward the Zionists and further revealed that terrorist groups that have undermined the peace and stability of the country are pursuing the Zionists’ aims,” he said. In addition, Salehi said that regional countries should maintain vigilance in the face of the Zionists’ plots against Muslim nations in order to prevent the Zionist regime from committing more crimes. Israel will face serious consequences Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday warned Israel of “serious consequences” after the air strike and said that the Zionist regime should not rely on its air defense systems because they proved ineffective during Israel’s military attack on the Gaza Strip in November. Amir-Abdollahian, who is the deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, also said that the air strike indicated that terrorists fighting against the Syrian government and the Zionist regime were working to a common end. He added that certain parties that had always taken a tough line with Syria should take serious action and adopt a strong stance against the Zionist regime’s act of aggression in order to protect the security of the region.