Iran repeats call for halting military aids to terrorists in Syria

Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Qazanfar Roknabadi reiterated Tehran's call for stopping military and financial aids to the terrorist groups in Syria as an important step to settle the crisis in the country. Roknabadi made the remarks in a meeting with UN Special Coordinator for Labanon Derek Plumbly on Wednesday. He voiced Iran’s support for diplomatic efforts to settle Syria crisis, calling for a halt to financial and military support for the terrorist groups fighting to topple the country’s government as the main step in this regard. Roknabadi also stressed the need for national dialogue in Lebanon to restore peace and security to the country. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. In October 2011, calm was almost restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies sought hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots to topple President Bashar al-Assad, who is well known in the world for his anti-Israeli stances.