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Trend News Agency
October 7, 2012
Iranian official: NATO preparing the ground for
intervention in Syria
NATO is preparing the ground for military intervention in
Syria under the pretext that the security of Turkey, which is a NATO member, has
been threatened, according to Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Iran's
Supreme Leader, MNA reported.
Velayati made the remarks in Tehran on Saturday in
reference to the recent exchange of artillery fire between Syria and Turkey, the
Persian service of the Fars News Agency reported.
On Wednesday, NATO condemned the Syrian attack on the town
of Akcakale, in southeastern Turkey, in which five Turkish citizens were killed
and nine others were injured when artillery shells landed on the town, the
Anadolu Agency reported.
Velayati, who formerly served as Iran's foreign minister,
said, "Today, NATO is ready to issue a threat against Syria and intends to enter
Syria under the pretext that one of the members of this organization.
Certain Western countries are seeking to drag NATO into
regional issues, he stated, adding, "The West is digging a hole so that Turkey,
Syria, and the entire region will become stuck in it and the Islamic Awakening
will be overshadowed. Regional countries, including Syria, Turkey, and Iraq,
should remain vigilant because the United States and its allies have plots for
regional countries."
Velayati added that the first pretext provided by the West
for interference in Syria's internal affairs was that Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad was not responding to legitimate public demands.
"(But) when the West came to the conclusion that the people
are supporters of the government, they decided to dispatch foreign mercenaries
to Syria and also encouraged neighboring countries to support them," he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Velayati mentioned the remarks
that Burhan Ghalioun, the former chairman of the Syrian National Council, made
on November 30, 2011, in which he said that "there will be no special
relationship with Iran" if members of the council come to power in Syria.
"These remarks revealed the hands of the Westerners in
Syrian developments,
On Iran's stance toward Syria, Velayati said, "We have
helped and are helping and will support Syria's territorial integrity and the
interests of the people and the government, provided that the reforms continue."