Iran Rejects Accusation of Interference in Syria

Iran said on Tuesday foreign interference would destabilize Syria, rejecting accusations that Tehran was complicit in a "massacre" of civilians by supplying weapons to its main ally's forces. "We are absolutely not interfering in the internal affairs of Syria, and we consider that the interference of other countries there to be a danger to the security and stability of Syria," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters. He was reacting to a statement Syria's Muslim Brotherhood issued on Monday, which said: "We consider Russia, China and Iran as direct accomplices to the horrible massacre being carried out against our people." The three countries were supplying weapons and equipment to President Bashar Assad's regime, spokesman Zouheir Salem said in the statement released in London. According to rights groups, more than 6,000 people have been killed in the unrest that broke out when activists launched a popular uprising in Syria in mid-March. Russia and China used their veto power last weekend to scupper a U.N. Security Resolution vote on a draft resolution condemning the Assad regime's bloody crackdown on the uprising. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said sharp Western criticism of the vetoes was "bordering on hysteria" and reaffirmed that it was wrong to blame Assad's forces alone for the violence. Lavrov landed in Damascus on Tuesday for talks with Assad. Iran was also to dispatch a deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, to the Syrian capital on Tuesday, for a visit which the official IRNA news agency said was aimed at discussing "bilateral relations and regional issues." Mehmanparast hailed Russia and China for having a "sense of responsibility" and countering what he said were moves by Western and Arab countries "to prepare the way for political and military intervention in Syria" to protect Israel. He said the only solution was to help create "the right atmosphere for talks and reforms in Syria". Iran's stance on Syria has earned criticism from neighboring Turkey, with Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc on Sunday calling into question the Islamic republic's Muslim credentials. "I am addressing the Islamic Republic of Iran: I do not know if you are worthy of being called Islamic," Arinc said, questioning Tehran's silence on the violent crackdown. "Have you said a single thing about what is happening in Syria?" he asked. Mehmanparast dismissed Arinc's remarks, saying "some Turkish officials are mistaken in their calculations" on Syria. "We advise them (to acquire) a more accurate understanding of the affairs there and create an atmosphere that would help resolve issues in Syria," he said. Turkey, once a close ally of neighboring Syria and Iran, has been at the forefront of international criticism against the Damascus regime and has also become a haven for many Syrian opposition activists. In Syria, heavy shelling, sporadic machinegun fire and rocket explosions were heard in the central city of Homs on Tuesday as regime forces and rebels continued their conflict. Syria's government vowed it would keep hunting "terrorist groups until security and order are re-established in all neighborhoods of Homs". Tehran - Naharnet