Iran press/Iran: Iran's Ambassador to the UN Gholamali Khoshroo in the Security Council on Tuesday warned that the U.S., Britain and France under the pretext of alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria seek to use force against the country.
Khoshroo added that Syria's declared chemical weapons have been destroyed and this would only be "a fabrication to use force" and "further complicate the situation."
Iran's Ambassador to the UN was addressing a council meeting on last Friday's summit of the presidents of Iran and Russia, allies of the Syrian government, and Turkey, which supports the opposition.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, issued a joint statement at the end of the Tehran Summit and emphasized their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria as well as to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and highlighted that they should be respected by all.
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Iran's Ambassador to the UN said the three presidents "are determined to continue cooperation to eliminate all terrorists."
Khoshroo said the fight against terrorism in the last rebel stronghold in Idlib "is an integral part of the mission of restoring peace and stability to Syria, but this combat must not hurt the civilians."
Meanwhile, Russia's U.N. ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said "terrorists" can't be allowed to hold hundreds of thousands of people as "human shields" in Syria's last major rebel-held stronghold in Idlib where "tens of thousands" of fighters linked to al-Qaida, the Islamic State and other extremist groups are concentrated.
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In Sep. 04, Iran's deputy foreign minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said that terrorists have been merged with the civilians in the city of Idlib and use people as human shield.
Araqchi: Astana Process on Syria making progress
UN chief calls presence of terrorists in Idlib, intolerable
Russia's U.N. ambassador also was briefing the U.N. Security Council on last Friday's summit of the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey in Tehran, stressing that the three countries are committed "to continue helping with a definitive elimination of terrorism in Syria."
He told council members Tuesday there is "an urgent need" to separate opposition fighters seeking a political settlement from the "terrorists" in Idlib, and urged those with influence to exert pressure to achieve this. He also stressed the need to prevent civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, Russia's envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev said that Russia, Turkey and Iran should be able to reach a compromise on Syria's rebel-held province of Idlib.
President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, emphasized that it's Turkey's responsibility to persuade the rebels in Idlib to disassociate themselves from the al-Qaida-linked militants. He voiced confidence that Russian, Turkish and Iranian militaries could negotiate a mutually acceptable position on Idlib.
Lavrentiev spoke after talks in Geneva with the U.N. envoy for Syria and top diplomats from Turkey and Iran. They focused on a looming Syrian government offensive on Idlib.
The Russian envoy said rebels in Idlib are preparing to stage a fake chemical attack they intend to blame on the Syrian government. He strongly warned the U.S. and its allies against using that "provocation" to strike Syria. He presented no evidence of the claim.
The Russian military says that rebels in Syria have staged a fake chemical attack they intend to blame on the Syrian government.
In Sep. 07, Iran, Turkey, Russia reaffirm joint commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria till full eradication of terrorism in the country.
The three leaders have met twice in Sochi and Istanbul in the framework of Astana Syria Talks.
The first of the trilateral summits was held last year in Russia's Black Sea city Sochi on Nov. 22. The second trilateral summit held in Istanbul.
The Third summit came as the Syrian army’ is preparing for attacking Idlib, the last stronghold of terrorists in the north.
Syrian government forces have been massing around the country's last rebel bastion. Capturing Idlib would put the vast majority of the country under Syria government control.
The main rebel group in the area is Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaeda affiliate.
Iran, alongside Russia and Turkey, is a guarantor of the ceasefire regime in Syria. The three guarantor states initiated the Astana Process on January 23, 2017, establishing de-escalation zones in an effort to restore calm in the region and improve the humanitarian situation in war-torn Syria.
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