Iran warns against Western intervention in Syria

TEHRAN: Iran sees no justification for any Western intervention in the "internal affair" of its regional Arab ally Syria, foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday.

"The events in Syria are its internal affair and there is no justification for any foreign intervention as it can only create many problems," Mehmanparast said during his weekly press briefing.

"Western leaders, especially Americans, are used to interfering in the internal affairs of countries and using any pretext to march with their military forces and occupy the country," he added.

Mehmanparast also warned that any intervention by Washington, Tehran's archfoe, will only stoke "public hatred" of the United States in the region.

Syria has repeatedly said it is battling "armed terrorist gangs" -- a claim denied by rights groups who say a crackdown by the regime on a popular revolt has killed 1,827 civilians since mid-March, while 416 security forces also died.

The United States is leading Western nations in mounting pressure on Damascus, saying that President Bashar al-Assad has lost his legitimacy and that his people "would be better off without him."

Several regional countries, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, have also denounced the crackdown on Syrian protesters.

Mehmanparast called on neighbouring countries to assist in "bringing stability to the region and resolving, through appropriate channels, the problems between the Syrian government and people who have claims."

Iran has been cautious in its stance on the anti-regime protests in Syria, in contrast to its vocal support for uprisings that have swept the Arab world.

In July, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned the United States for "meddling" in Syria.

Tehran has said the foreign media publishes exaggerated reports on events in Syria.

Washington, the European Union and Syrian opposition groups have accused Tehran of helping Syrian security forces put down the uprising, a claim vehemently denied by Iran.

For its part, Iran has accused Israel and the United States of trying to undermine Syria.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2010