US-led strikes meant to distract world opinion from Syria victories: IRIB world service chief

The head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB)'s World Service says recent airstrikes by the United States, Britain and France against Syria were aimed at distracting the world public opinion from realities on the ground in the Arab country.

"What we are witnessing in Syria are the achievements and victories by the [Syrian] government and its allies in defeating terrorists," Peyman Jebelli said in an interview with Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam news network in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday.

He added that the US had no option but to orchestrate such an "ineffective" attack, which he noted would fail to have any impact on the fight against terrorism in Syria.

He said the joint strikes showed that the US-led military coalition could not hinder the Syrians’ fight against terrorist groups.

"This [act of] aggression will have no impact on the performance of the Syrian army, nation and resistance," the IRIB world service chief pointed out.

The US, Britain and France launched airstrikes against multiple places in Syria early Saturday following US President Donald Trump's order despite international warnings against further escalation of the situation in the Arab country and across the Middle East.

The US-led military coalition has accused the Syrian government of having allegedly attacked the militant-held town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta region on April 7 and claimed that the Saturday airstrikes had been aimed at deterring Syria's further use of chemical weapons.

The Syrian government has denied the allegations, saying such claims were aimed at halting Syrian forces' advances in the region and were made by the terrorists themselves.

PressTV-Syria denies using chemical weapons in Douma

The Syrian government denies terrorist claims about launching a chemical attack in the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta.

"The chemical fabrications, which did not serve the terrorists and their sponsors in Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta, will not serve them today either, as the Syrian state is determined to end terrorism in every square inch of Syrian territory," read a statement by the Syrian government.

Jebelli further emphasized that regional countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, were not able to engage in a direct war against Syria, but gave money to the US to wage wars.

He said the US-led military coalition carried out the attacks with the purpose of creating obstacles for an international team expected to investigate the suspected chemical attack in Douma "because they are confident that this team cannot find anything proving their claims."

He emphasized that the resistance front would continue its efforts until the elimination of terrorists.  

Following an invitation from Damascus, inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are expected to arrive in Syria over the weekend to investigate the reported attack.

The Syrian government surrendered its stockpiles of chemical weapons during a process monitored by the OPCW in 2014.

Read more:

• Illegal attack on Syria, blatant support for terrorism: Rouhani
• Foreign secret service behind Syria chemical attack: Russia FM
• China 'opposes' Syria attack, Iraq urges clear Arab stance
• Riyadh, Manama voice support for airstrikes on Syria
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemns Western 'tripartite aggression' against Syria

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