Insecurity, Result Of Arming Syria’s Rebellions: Mehmanparast

Tehran, April 19, IRNA – Unrest, killings and insecurity are consequences of arming the rebellions and provoking civil war in Syria, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in Zagreb Wednesday. Mehmanparast made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Croatia state TV. “Iran supports the UN-Arab League Envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan for Syria and rejects all types of foreign interference and arming of the rebellions; both sides of the conflict should care not to break the truce in order to make an atmosphere for holding national talks,” Iran’s FM spokesman noted. “Iran and G5+1 talks could involve various issues including Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities; if Iran’s nuclear rights are respected any ambiguity related to Iran’s nuclear program can easily be clarified.” “Since Iran has enough power to defend its territories optimally, the possibility of any war against Iran is very weak; Iran could not be compared with Iraq if attacked by foreign countries because it has the complete support of the Iranian nation.” Since the beginning of 2011, the Muslim world has witnessed popular uprisings and revolutions similar to what happened in Iran in 1979. Tunisia saw the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a popular revolution in January, which was soon followed by a revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in February. Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have since been the scene of protests against their totalitarian rulers, who have resorted to brutal crackdown on demonstrations to silence their critics. Bahrain however, has experienced the deadliest clashes. Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty's over-40-year rule. Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. In October, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Bashar al-Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but the US and Zionist regime plots could spark some new unrest in certain parts of the country. UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan is promoting a six-point initiative to end the violence, bring in relief, and forge a political process to address grievances in Syria. The UN Security Council endorsed a presidential statement recently welcoming Annan's recent appointment as a special envoy on the crisis. It also backed the six-point plan submitted to Syria, which Annan's office said was accepted by President Bashar al-Assad's regime. 'The Security Council calls upon the Syrian government and opposition to work in good faith with the envoy towards a peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis and to implement fully and immediately his initial six-point proposal,' the presidential statement said. Furthermore, in case of Iran and G5+1 recent talks, after more than a year of stalled talks, Iran and the Group 5+1 eventually accepted last month to resume their negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 14 and in case of good progress hold a second round of talks in Iraq's capital city, Baghdad. The two sides attended two meetings at Istanbul's Lutfil Kirdar Hall Saturday. Ashton led the delegations of the world powers, while the Iranian side was headed by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary. At the first round of talks, the Iranian team of negotiators called on the western parties to take proper measures to build Iran's confidence. Both Iran’s top negotiator Saeed Jalili and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton voiced satisfaction with the Saturday talks. The last meeting between the two sides took place in Istanbul in January 2011. Iran and the G5+1 had also held two rounds of multifaceted talks in Geneva in December 2010. Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any compelling evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population due to the fact that the country's fossil fuel would eventually run dry. Despite the rights enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment. Tehran has dismissed the West's demands as politically tainted and illogical, stressing those sanctions and pressures merely consolidate Iranians national resolve to continue with the civilian program./end