DUBAI - Iran would take action if the United States were to carry out an
act of "stupidity" and attack Syria, an Iranian military official was
quoted as saying on Saturday, but the comments later disappeared from
the state-linked agency website.
Iran has steadfastly supported Syrian President Bashar Assad
in his bid to suppress an uprising which both Tehran and Damascus see
as a proxy war by Israel and Western states to extend their influence in
the Middle East.
"If America were to attack Syria, Iran along
with Syria's allies will take action, which would amount to a fiasco for
America," Mohammad Ali Assoudi, the deputy for culture and propaganda
of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was quoted as saying.
Assoudi's
comments were first carried by the government-linked news agency Young
Journalists' Club but were later apparently taken down from the group's
website. The comments were picked up by Iranian news sites including
Iran's Jam-e Jam newspaper and the BBC's Persian-language site.
Iranian officials were not immediately available for comment.
Assoudi
did not specify exactly what steps Iran would take, but said Syria's
allies would implement their joint military pact in the case of a US
attack.
"In the case of American stupidity and a military attack
by this country on Syria, the joint military pact of Syria's allies
would be implemented," Assoudi said.
Iran and Syria signed a
mutual defense pact in 2006, but little is known of its details, or
whether there are any other signatories.
The Islamic Republic
considers Assad's government, along with Lebanese Shi'ite militant group
Hezbollah, part of an "axis of resistance" against the influence of the
United States and Israel in the Middle East.
But while Turkey,
Gulf Arab countries and Western states admit to giving non-weapons aid
to the Syrian rebels, there is little or no appetite in Washington,
especially in an election year, for direct military intervention in
Syria. Without US leadership, its allies also appear unwilling to go it
alone.
Iran accuses Western powers and regional states of
supporting and arming the rebels, while the rebels accuse Iran of
sending IRGC fighters to help Assad crush the uprising.
"With
cooperation from Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, America has the goal of
striking a blow against Syria and making preparations for the fall of
the Syrian government," Assoudi said.