Iran: No outsiders should control Syria

The Iranian Supreme National Security Council secretary said during a quick trip to Damascus on Tuesday outsiders are trying to impose a government on Syria. Saeed Jalili met with President Bashar Assad and expressed Iran's support, Mehr News Agency reported. He said Iran will provide humanitarian aid for Syria. "Iran does not support the solutions imposed on Syria from the outside, and we believe that a new path should be followed, through which the crisis can be resolved based on national and domestic dialogue," he said. Jalili said Syria needs democracy. During his one-day visit, Jalili also met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem to discuss 47 Iranian pilgrims kidnapped by the Syrian rebels. In Tehran, Reza Zabib, the director for North American Affairs in the Iranian foreign ministry, told the Swiss charge-d'affaires that Iran holds the United States responsible for the kidnapped pilgrims' safety, Mehr reported. The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi traveled to Ankara to seek Turkish help in winning the pilgrims' freedom, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.