Iranian officials rush to Syria as drums of war beat louder

FNA reports delegation of senior parliamentarians to visit war-torn country after "recent US threats" in show of support.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Ahmadinejad Assad Damascus 370 (photo credit: Reuters)
Ahmadinejad Assad Damascus 370
(photo credit: Reuters)
An Iranian delegation of senior parliamentarians is to visit Syria on Saturday in an effort to "study Syria's conditions" as Western powers rush to debate their next move to deter the use of chemical weapons, Fars News Agency, which claims to be independent but which is widely known to have close ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards reported.
"This visit to take place next Saturday will be aimed at studying Syria’s conditions and showing support for the Syrian government and nation after the recent US threats,” Rapporteur of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini told FNA on Wednesday.
The announcement of the visit comes a day after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said US intervention in Syria would be "a disaster for the region," but will come as no surpise as Iran has attempted to lend steadfast support to President Bashar Assad, its main strategic ally in the Middle East, against a two-and-a-half-year-long rebellion.
Iran is concerned that if Assad were overthrown, he would be replaced by either allies of the West or by radical Sunni Muslims tied to Saudi Arabia, both seen as hostile by the Shi'ite Muslim Iranians. Syria is also a conduit for Iranian supplies to Shi'ite Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Echoing the party lines, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi on Wednesday warned against an American attack on Syria and her allies, stating: "If the US does a stupid move to confront Iran, it will have no result for them other than destruction of the American vessels and receiving the US soldiers’ dead bodies."
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned of "irreparable" consequences of foreign military intervention in Syria, saying that such a move will have large-scale repercussions for the entire region, FNA reported.
The delegation will compromise members of parliament, and will be headed by Commission Chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi who will be accompanied by two other senior lawmakers, Seyed Fathollah Hosseini and Javad Karimi Qodousi.