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Syria calls for respecting Iran’s sovereignty - Foreign Ministry

Damascus expresses strong condemnation and absolute rejection of the stances adopted by the US administration

MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/. Syria’s government expressed solidarity with Iran and demanded interference in its internal affairs stopped, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said on Tuesday.

"Syria expresses full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, emphasizing the importance of respecting Iran’s sovereignty and not interfering in its internal affairs," the agency quoted an official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry as saying.

"Syria expresses strong condemnation and absolute rejection of the stances adopted by the US administration," SANA reported, referring to the source.

"Such stances, according to the source, confirm the destructive role of those countries in destabilizing the region with the aim of controlling it, seizing its resources and national choices, weakening the resistance axis in the region following the failure of the conspiratorial scheme thanks to the victories achieved against the Takfiri terrorist groups in Syria, and Iraq as Iran was a main partner in those victories," SANA said.

The anti-governmental protests in Iran began on December 28. The disorders claimed at least 20 lives, and more than 450 people were detained.

On January 2, the Al Mayadeen TV channel quoted Ramezan Sharif, a spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), as saying - the police and internal security forces "fully control the situation in Tehran and other cities of Iran where street protests took place."

Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told the Al Mayadeen TV channel "the protests have been caused by the discontent expressed by part of people in Iran due to the current economic situation." He accused the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia of meddling in the country’s internal affairs.

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