Iranian senior lawmaker calls US withdrawal from attacking Syria big defeat

A prominent Iranian legislator described the US decision to halt its military strike on Syria a major defeat for Washington. “After its failure to wage war against Syria, the US seeks to refer the Muslim country’s case to the Security Council,” member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Hojatollah Souri said on Friday. The senior lawmaker reiterated that any resolution or statement against Syria would be a lever to exert pressure on the country and would only serve the interests of the opponents of the Damascus government. US President Barack Obama said last week he will stop a US plan to strike Syria if the country agrees with the Russian proposal to surrender its possible chemical stocks to international control. Obama said the Russian proposal could lead to a “breakthrough”, but added that the US will maintain pressure on Syria by continuing his push for Congress to authorize military action. As the US Congress debates authorizing an attack on Syria, Russia on Monday proposed Syria put its chemical weapons under international control. The idea is a "potentially positive development", Obama said, adding that Washington will work with Moscow and the international community "to see if we can arrive at something that is enforceable and serious", the Islam Times reported. The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accepted the Russian proposal. Obama last week gave a series of television interviews in an attempt to gain support from lawmakers and public for a limited military strike on Syria. Recent polls show that the majority of Americans oppose any US military action against Syria. The US, Israel and France have adopted the rhetoric of war against Syria over allegations that the Syrian government was behind a recent chemical attack near Damascus. The call for military strike intensified after the militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed on August 21 that hundreds had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar. The Syrian government has strongly denied the claim, accusing the militants of the attack.