Ahmadinejad to Syria: Don't side with US

Iranian president tells Syrian FM: We must always be prepared to thwart American plans in the region.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Walid Moallem 248 88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Walid Moallem 248 88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Syria on Thursday not to side with the Americans. "We must always be prepared to thwart the plans of the US in the region," Ahmadinejad told Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem in Teheran. "The Americans are on the verge of destruction" and "anyone who sides with them will also go the same way," Ahmadinejad said, according to the Iranian Students News Agency. In his meeting with Moallem, Ahmadinejad called on Middle Eastern countries to "raise their alert in the face of the enemies' plots and make plans to foil them," his office said. The US government was embarking on numerous operations in the region due to its internal issues, the "dead end" its policy toward Iran and Syria had reached, and the upcoming US presidential election, he said. Moallem mentioned the "sensitive situation" of the Palestinians, saying that "despite the blockade on Gaza and the continuing Israeli aggression, Gazans have succeeded in continuing the resistance under the leadership of Hamas and conducting their affairs." Therefore, he continued, "the peoples' movement of Hamas has gained strength." The Syrian foreign minister also accused the US of making baseless accusations to create internal conflicts and divide the nations of the Middle East.