“[Attempts to] weaken the Syrian army by terrorist groups or any other current mean serving the Zionist regime [of Israel] and betraying the interests of Syria and Syrians,” Vahidi said in a telephone conversation with Syria’s newly-appointed Defense Minister General Fahd al-Jassem al-Freij on Saturday.
Vahidi voiced confidence that Syria’s ‘powerful army’ would foil the plots hatched by the US and its regional allies, particularly Israel.
“Terrorists do not want democracy (in Syria) rather their fight is aimed at creating a secure margin for the Zionist regime,” the Iranian minister added.
Al-Freij, for his part, praised the Islamic Republic for its position on the recent developments in Syria.
He added that Syria is currently facing a US-Zionist conspiracy that is targeting the resistance movement, stating that the recent assassinations had only strengthened the resolve of the Army to fight terrorists.
On Wednesday, Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Assef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani were killed in a bomb attack on the headquarters of the National Security Bureau in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Sha’ar and National Security chief General Hisham Ikhtiyar were wounded in the attack. The latter died of wounds on Friday.
The so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening more violence in the Syrian capital in the coming days.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. The violence has claimed the lives of many people, including security forces.
The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing protesters, but Damascus blames ‘outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups’ for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.
YH/HGH/IS
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