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Senior Iran official says Syrian crisis not part of Iran nuclear talks with West

Xinhua, May 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

A senior Iranian official said here on Wednesday that Iran's nuclear talks with the West do not include the Syrian crisis or any other regional issue.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman for the Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, made the remarks during a short press briefing held in the Syrian Parliament Wednesday, a day after he flew in the conflict-torn country for talks with top Syrian officials.

"Our negotiations with the U.S. and the P5+1 countries were confined to the nuclear file only and we didn't touch upon the Syrian crisis or any other regional issues," Boroujerdi told reporters.

He added that excluding the Syrian crisis from the nuclear talks was upon the directives of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, noting that his country will always support the Syrian government and Syrian people.

Meanwhile, Boroujerdi said he congratulated the Syrian officials on the recent "achievements" made by the Syrian forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah group in the rugged Qalamoun region, where battles have recently flared between the Syrian forces and several jihadist groups, mainly the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front.

After meeting with the head of the Syrian Parliament Muhammad al-Laham, Boroujerdi also held a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad.

According to the state news agency SANA, the Iranian official said that "the steadfastness and willingness of the Syrian people and the solidity of its army and leadership are enough to defeat terrorism and its backers."

"There is no power on earth that can affect the special relations between Iran and Syria," Boroujerdi noted, in a clear indication that Iran will keep supporting Assad's administration in the long-running conflict.

For his part, Assad said that "escalating the war on the Syrians by the terrorists and their backers and the use of lies and false media campaigns... will not undermine the steadfastness and determination of Syrians. Endit