Iran urges "comprehensive" cease-fire in Syria: defense chief

Iran's Defense Minister, Hossein Dehqan, on Thursday urged a "comprehensive"cease-fire in Syria as a preliminary step for resolving the crisis in the Arab state.

The cease-fire, however, should not pave the way for terrorist groups to grow stronger, Dehqan made the remark in a trilateral meeting with his visiting Russian and Syrian counterparts in Tehran, Press TV reported.

Dehqan called for "a decisive fight" against all terrorist groups involved in the Syrian violence, urging a halt in the flow of aid to the those groups.

Such anti-terror battles must go hand in hand with efforts on the diplomatic front with the aim of setting the stage for the Syrian nation to decide its own political future in peace, he was quoted as saying.

The Iranian minister also criticized the United States, Saudi Arabia and some other regional states for what he said "supporting the terrorists" under the guise of so-called "moderate opposition."

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and Syrian Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij arrived in Iran's capital Tehran on Thursday to discuss further cooperation.

The meeting is aimed at exchanging views on the latest regional development and the ways to strengthen the fight against terrorism.

The visiting ministers will also hold separate meetings with their Iranian counterpart and Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.

Iran and Russia have emerged as the major allies of the Syrian government in its struggle against the militant groups who are seeking the overthrow of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began, more than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and millions of the Syrians have been displaced from their homes. Endit