Pars Today

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States’ recent missile strikes against a Syrian army airbase are a breach of international law and set a “dangerous precedent.”

“Two important events have recently occurred. One of them was the killing of a number of Syrian people due to the use of chemical weapons, which was very painful for us and we condemn it,” Zarif said in a meeting with Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén in Tehran on Saturday.

 “And the second incident was the US missile attacks on Syria, which are in contravention of the principles of international law and a dangerous precedent,” he added.

At least 86 people were killed in a gas attack in the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib Province. Anti-Damascus militants and Western countries rushed to blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the incident, without providing any evidence to support their accusations.

In addition to acting against international law, the US committed a bigger mistake as it carried out the attacks "without any investigation,” Zarif said.

The Iranian foreign minister warned that terrorists would later take advantage of the issue to draw others into conflicts whenever in a weak position.

“If terrorists feel that the US will act only on the basis of an allegation, they will repeat their heinous measures,” Zarif said.

He warned against the spread of terrorism and extremism throughout the world and stressed the importance of increasing dialog and common understanding among religions in an effort to help improve international security.

Using the Idlib tragedy as a pretext, US President Donald Trump ordered the country’s warships in the eastern Mediterranean to carry out a missile attack on Syria. They launched a barrage of 59 Tomahawk missiles against Shayrat Airfield in Syria’s Homs Province early on Friday.

Syria denounced the US assault as a “blatant aggression” that killed up to 15 people, including civilians, and caused “significant material damage.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the top Iranian diplomat said the Islamic Republic welcomes the expansion of relations with Hungary in energy, transportation, education and tourism sectors.

Zarif stressed the two countries’ private sectors cooperation, particularly in the economic field and said Tehran and Budapest need to bolster banking cooperation.

The Hungarian official, for his part, stressed the importance of fighting terrorism and extremism to establish a secure world.

Semjén added that there was no solution but dialogue to the Syrian crisis.

EA