Iran Says Silence of International Community 'Encourages Israel's Aggression' Against Syria

Published on

Friday, May 11, 2018

by

Common Dreams

The condemnation of world leaders comes as Iran and European diplomats work to save the nuclear deal that the Trump administration ditched earlier this week

by

Jessica Corbett, staff writer

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Friday he will work with European leaders to save the Iran nuclear deal. (Photo: PressTV)

Amid heightened fears that U.S. President Donald Trump's violation of the Iran nuclear deal and Israel's airstrikes on "Iranian targets" in Syria this week could lead to "an all-out regional war," Iran called out world leaders for refusing to denounce the Israeli bombing campaign.

"Strongly" condemning Israel's "attacks on Syria," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi reportedly told state television: "The international community's silence encourages Israel's aggression. Syria has every right to defend itself."

The Israeli Defense Minister claimed the airstrikes "hit nearly all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria," and some experts have concluded the campaign was "aimed at provoking a reaction from Iranian forces"—which, along with Russia, have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the nation's ongoing civil war. However, as Common Dreams previously reported, Syrian officials have said "that it was their own army that fired the missiles in response to Israel's earlier attack."

Without offering any evidence, the Trump White House issued a statement blaming Iran for the missiles fired from Syria in response to the Israeli bombing campaign. That statement came mere days after Trump announced the U.S.'s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, despite warnings from anti-war activists and world leaders that such a move would place the U.S. on the path to yet another military conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a statement on Friday that he will work to salvage the deal through diplomatic talks with European leaders, and a meeting in Brussels with representatives from Germany, France, and the U.K. has been scheduled for Tuesday. Zarif added that Iran will prepare "to pursue industrial-scale [uranium] enrichment without any restrictions" if efforts to save the deal are unsuccessful.

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