DAVOS: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif yesterday denied his country had sent Hezbollah militants to fight in Syria, saying the Tehran-backed Shiite extremist group was making its own decisions. And he told a gathering at the World Economic Forum that he believed the Syrian conflict could be resolved within the next year, saying he hoped talks in Geneva would bear fruit. The usually smiling Iranian diplomat, who has been seen as the new face of the Islamic republic since coming to office in August, was unusually combative in a tense panel session held in the Swiss mountain town of Davos.
Under constant questioning about Iran’s role in shoring up Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Zarif said it was “preposterous” to suggest that Tehran was supporting extremist groups fighting in Syria.
“We are not sending people, Hezbollah has made its own decision,” Zarif told the audience, adding that Iran had also suffered at the hands of Sunni Al Qaeda extremists.
But he tacitly acknowledged Iran’s support for Assad, when asked if the long-time leader would have survived against a determined uprising without Tehran’s help. “Of course he would, nobody would survive unless they have domestic legitimacy,” Zarif insisted.
Asked if he would call for Lebanese militia group Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria, he added: “What I can ask is for all foreign elements to leave Syria and for the Syrian people to decide their own future.AFP
