Mohammad Ramez Tourjman dismissed as baseless the US claims about targeting ISIS positions in Syria and said unlike the crushing missile strikes of the Islamic Republic on the terrorists’ positions in Syria, the US has not yet taken any practical steps in its alleged war on terror.
“It’s widely known that the US is involved in the Syrian war just to save its face,” he said in an interview with Tasnim, adding Washington is indirectly supporting the militants by shooting down the Syrian government’s jet in southern Syria.
Tourjman also said, “Our investigations into the military measures of the US-led coalition over the past few years reveal that the coalition has not yet managed to hamper ISIS advance. This comes as the Axis of Resistance inflicted a heavy blow on the terrorists in general and ISIS in particular over a short span of time. The blow has forced ISIS into retreat in Iraq and Syria. This shows, unlike the US-led coalition, the Axis of Resistance is completely serious in its war on terror.”
The Syrian information minister stressed that the US and its regional ally, Israel, plan to divide the whole region particularly Syria into smaller parts, but the Axis of Resistance and Russia are against the plot by putting their focus on preserving the integrity of the whole region.
“The shoot-down of the Syrian jet by the US-led coalition was not unprecedented. Several weeks ago the US-led coalition targeted Syrian army which was advancing on its war against ISIS in southern Syria. The attack sparked Russia’s protest, but the protest couldn’t stop the US from targeting the Syrian jet,” he added.
He called for stronger warnings to the US and its allies to make them understand the fact that their wrong measures would not go unpunished.
“The US-led coalition’s repeated gestures of defiance against Russia are putting Russia’s credibility to the test. The Syrian jets target ISIS which is widely regarded as a terrorist group across the world. The United Nation Security Council has listed ISIS as a terrorist group. So the US move to hamper Syrian army and its allies’ operations against ISIS has no legal bases. It shows that the US is just seeking to accomplish its own project to divide the region,” he added.
The Syrian minister also said Russia should continue to slam the US-led coalition for its repeated attacks on the Syrian army’s positions and added, after the US targeted Deir ez-Zor airport, Moscow and Washington signed an agreement to prevent similar attacks in the future, but the US broke the deal by launching further attacks on Syrian army.
“Russia’s strong reaction can send this clear message to the US that it must take war on ISIS seriously. Meanwhile, the US must understand that its repeated attacks on Syrian army’s positions would have serious consequences. So, I think the attacks on the Syrian army could be stopped only if the US faces the iron will of Syrian nation and Axis of Resistance or is forced to sign a binding agreement with Russia,” he concluded.
