Syrian FM: Israel to draw war on Iran to elude peace

Syria's foreign minister expresses concern about the possibility of “Israel dragging others into a war with Iran to avoid committing to the peace process.”

“Undoubtedly, there is room for concern. If I lived in the West, I would be worried not to mention the Middle East, which is close to the tension areas,” Walid Muallem told the Al Jazeera news channel, quoted by the IRIB translation service.

“That is why I am insisting that diplomacy is the best solution to our problems. The biggest problem is the lack of trust. Iran and the West do not share any trust; that is why I believe that any military conflict in the region would be dangerous for everyone.”

“What I am afraid of is that by hyping the Iranian [nuclear] issue, Israel might drag others into a confrontation with Iran to elude its peace commitments,” Muallem added.

The foreign minister said that although Damascus had never acted as a mediator between Iran and the West, it had invited the two sides of the dispute to negotiate their differences.

He also attacked Israel for its nuclear arsenal and said Tel Aviv's nuclear warheads threaten to pull the Middle East into a nuclear arms race.

Muallem also commented on Syria's relations with Iran and said that Damascus would never give up its ties with Tehran or downgrade them in exchange for a new relationship with the United States.

He explained that Damascus conducts its foreign relations based on two main factors: the stance countries take on the issue of Palestinian rights, and Syria's national interests, adding that Iran scored positive points on both aspects.

“The Iranian Revolution,” he explained, “has adopted a clear position on the issue of the Arab-Israeli dispute.”