Iran condemned violation of international law, particularly international humanitarian law, by the United States and asked Washington to immediately end its illegal presence in Syria.

Iran Press/Iran news: The Iranian ambassador to the UN, Majid Takht Ravanchi said that his country, along with other guarantors of the Astana Format, continues to support the inherent right of Syria’s Government to fight terrorists designated by the Security Council. 

Takht Ravanchi spoke at UN Security Council Meeting in New York City to discuss the ongoing hostilities in the Syrian city of Idlib, on Tuesday, Iran Press reported.

Idlib’s de-escalation area has been created to protect civilians from terrorists, not provide a safe zone for the latter, the Iranian ambassador noted.

Takht Ravanchi said, "It is also obvious that these internationally designated terrorist groups cannot and should not be allowed to continue their control over a large part of a sovereign state's territory."

"Otherwise, Idlib will certainly turn into a safe haven for the cruelest terrorists to continue conducting their operations and to kill more civilians inside and outside of Idlib," he added.

Speaking during the same meeting, the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations said the Western information on the Syrian army’s operations in Idlib province is based on lies.

Bashar Jaafari stated that the Syrian army never targets schools and hospitals, emphasizing that terrorists continue to take hundreds of thousands of civilians as human shields in Idlib, commit the most heinous crimes against them and continue their attacks on neighboring towns and citizens.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said the Astana talks format is the only way to stabilize the situation in Syria. 101

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