In talks in Damascus and Amman in early May, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called on the Syrian government to engage in dialogue with its “peaceful opposition.” But he made clear that Tehran still fully backs the government of President Bashar Assad. “Iran stands at the side of Syria in the face of Israeli aggression,” Salehi said in Damascus.
Salehi met with Assad on May 7 after a two-day visit to Jordan. At a press conference in Amman, the Iranian foreign minister called for the formation of a “transitional government” that included both the current government and the opposition movements that had not taken up arms. He pointedly rejected any role for the al Nusra Front, a Sunni Islamist militia affiliated with al Qaeda.
Salehi’s trip followed reported Israeli airstrikes on Iranian-made missiles bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah on May 3 and a military complex near Damascus on May 5. The following are excerpted remarks by top Iranian and Syrian officials.
Iran Calls for Syrian Dialogue With Opposition
Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s foreign minister
“The time has come to dissuade the Israeli occupier from carrying out such aggression against the peoples of the region… Iran stands at the side of Syria in the face of Israeli aggression, whose aim is to damage the security of the region and weaken the axis of resistance… We are fully confident that Syria will emerge victorious from the crisis…“ May 7 to Syrian news media
“We reject any foreign intervention in Syria and we don’t want Syria to plunge into crisis… The Syria crisis and its consequences for the region are very heavy, and must be peacefully settled within the framework of a Syrian-Syrian solution… The repercussions of the Syrian crisis will reflect on neighboring states and other countries… If a vacuum is created, God forbid, the outcome will be unknown. We believe the Syrian crisis must be resolved peacefully…
We have called for talks between the Syrian government and the peaceful opposition to form a transitional government… We have advised the Syrian government to sit with the opposition but not with the Nusra Front [an al Qaeda affiliate]…
We do not want history to repeat itself. We have seen what such interference did in other countries…[Tehran is] helping Syria economically…” May 7 in a joint press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh
"We have engaged all the political currents in Syria and have worked to remove any obstacles that stand in the way of a national dialogue to be held in Damascus. We put forward an initiative for resolving the conflict and presented it to all the parties involved. We even announced our acceptance in advance of any plan that seeks a political resolution regardless of who proposes it. The regime has shown some flexibility and reacted positively to our efforts, and so have some factions in the opposition..." May 8 in an op-ed for Al Akhbar
Bashar Assad, Syria’s president
“The Syrian people and their valiant army are capable of confronting the Israeli adventures, which are one of the faces of terrorism targeting Syria everyday… [The Israeli strikes were proof of] the implication of Israel and regional and Western countries..." May 7 to Syrian news media
Walid Moualem, Syria’s foreign minister
“We have now been at war for two years. We are not afraid and we will not remain silent in the face of aggression..." May 7 to Syrian news media