Red line "for Tehran the fate of Assad

Sunday, December 06, 2015


Red line "for Tehran the fate of Assad



Leading advisor of supreme leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can only be determined by the Syrian people and the theme is "red line" for Tehran, reported the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

The fate of Assad is a crucial point in the talks between world powers trying to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria. Iran and Russia want the Assad stay in power until the elections, contrary to Western and Arab countries requesting his retirement.

"The Bashar al-Assad is the red line of the Islamic Republic of Iran because he was elected president of the Syrian people. The citizens of Syria must decide their fate and no one outside the borders of Syria can opt for the Syrian people" said Ali Akbar Velagiati, the chief foreign policy adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Velagiati stressed that Iran will try to ease the tension between Turkey and Russia. "There is no benefit to the tensions that accumulate in the area. DO NOT place in favor of one side or the other, we have a duty to reduce the tensions between these two countries."

The tension caused after the shooting down of Russian fighter aircraft in November by the Turkish army, with Ankara stating that the aircraft violated Turkish airspace as were making mission in Syria.