Iran respects Syrians’ ‘decision, choice’, says FM Spokesman

A senior Iranian official said on Monday that the country respects ‘decision and choice’ made by Syrian people.

News ID: 5709

Date: 06 January 2025 - 11:48

TABNAK, Jan 06: “We respect the choice and decision of Syrian nation,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.

“However, we have concerns about Syria which is a common issue among all regional nations. Syrian nation should be able to decide about their future without any foreign, regional and transregional interference. Syria must not turn to be a haven for terrorists.”

Since former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s ouster in a lightning offensive by opposition forces, Damascus has experienced a flurry of visits from Arab and Western countries that had cut off relations with Assad’s government during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

However, Western countries have so far not lifted sanctions placed on Syria under Assad or removed the designation of HTS as a terrorist group, although the United States lifted a $10 million bounty it had previously placed on Ahmad al-Sharaa formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the Islamist former insurgent group that is now the de facto ruling party in Syria.