Tehran, Feb 27: Iran on Thursday strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria and near Damascus, calling for international action to halt Israeli “aggression.” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, in a statement released by the ministry, denounced the strikes carried out by Israeli warplanes on Tuesday night, targeting multiple locations.
“We warn against the continuation of Israel’s expansionist and aggressive actions in Syrian territory,” Baghaei said, urging the international community and Muslim states to take “decisive and immediate actions” to condemn and stop Israel’s “lawbreaking.”
He cited Israel’s “frequent violations” of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria, stating that the strikes were a “flagrant violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter as well as international law.”
“Israel’s occupation of parts of Syria’s soil and frequent violations of the Arab state’s sovereignty and territorial integrity amount to committing the crime of aggression,” Baghaei said, calling on the UN Security Council to intervene, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Israeli strikes followed remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called for a demilitarized southern Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the strikes targeted the Syrian Army’s First Division headquarters in Al-Kiswah, south of Damascus, and Brigade 112 in Izraa, Daraa province. Strikes were also reported near the Syria-Lebanon border. SOHR reported at least four people were killed in the attacks.
IANS