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Conflict in Syria

Iranian top diplomat slams Trump’s allegations against Tehran as hypocritical

Some NGOs, including the White Helmets, claim that chemical weapons were used in Douma, a suburb of the Syrian capital on April 7

© AP Photo/Susan Walsh

MOSCOW, April 10. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump’s statement about Tehran’s possible involvement in the alleged chemical weapons attack in the Syrian town of Douma is hypocritical, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

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Trump says decision on Syria will be made in '24 to 48 hours'

"Trump's cheap shot against Iran, which has consistently condemned the use of chemical weapons by anyone and is itself the victim of their use by Saddam with US support, is hypocritical. His threats to repeat impulsive acts of aggression is symptomatic of US policy helping extremists," the tweet reads.

US President Donald Trump earlier blamed the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma on Russia and Iran, citing their support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He said that Washington had "a lot of options militarily" on Syria. Trump added that a decision would be made in 24 to 48 hours.

Alleged chemical weapons attack

A number of non-government organizations, including the White Helmets, allege that a chemical weapons attack took place in Eastern Ghouta’s town of Douma on April 7. In their April 8 statement, the White Helmets claimed that the attack had particularly involved chlorine-filled bombs. According to the White Helmets, dozens died in the attack, while 500 people "reached the medical centers with symptoms of exposure to chemicals."

The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed the statement as a bogus story, while Russia’s Defense Ministry pointed out that the White Helmets were not a reliable source of information as they were known for spreading fabricated news.

On April 9, officers from the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the opposing sides in Syria visited Douma but did not find any traces of chemical weapons. Russian officials many times warned about impending provocations and staged chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

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Syrian conflict

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The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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