Iran has strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria, underling the need for disarming terrorists operating in the Arab country.
“We strongly condemn any use of chemical weapons, irrespective of who used them or their victims,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Wednesday.
Dozens of people were killed in a chemical attack in the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun in the northwestern province of Idlib on Tuesday.Iran is saying that its ally Syria has complied with international resolutions on getting rid of its weapons of mass destruction and therefore couldn't have been guilty of the horrific attack in Idlib.
The United States and its allies were quick to accuse Syrian government forces of carrying out the attack. The Syrian army said, however, that “it has never used them (chemical weapons), anytime, anywhere, and will not do so in the future.”
The Iranian official said that the catastrophe was not the first of its kind in Syria, warning that dealing with the tragedy based on double standards, rash judgment and propaganda purposes and using it as a tool to level accusations against others and reinforce the political demands of certain sides would prevent addressing the root causes of such disasters.
Qassemi said the Syrian government had voluntarily dismantled its stockpile of chemical weapons under the supervision of the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), stressing that it was now time for disarming terrorist groups in the Arab country.
“Considering the transfer, stockpile and use of chemical weapons by terrorist groups in Syria, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always believed that despite the disarmament of the Syrian government through its full cooperation and under the supervision of a joint representative of the UN and the OPCW, ignoring the need for the chemical disarmament of terrorist groups has been a major flaw in the country's chemical disarmament process,” the Iranian official said.
Similarly, Iran also says that it has complied with international resolutions on getting rid of its capability of building weapons of mass destruction.
Meanwhile, Iran's ally North Korea, which does have nuclear weapons, has been threatening other countries with a nuclear holocaust and is testing long range missiles that can carry such weapons. Like Iran, North Korea had also signed an agreement to stop its nuclear weapons program and to allow inspectors free access, and like Iran, North Korea breached that and many other agreements.
Iran's client Syria and its ally North Korea provide the blueprint for Iran's own ambitions to build and threaten the world with weapons of mass destruction while pretending to the end to be compliant with international law and demands.