Iran rejects 'conspiratorial, illogical' claims on Syria chemical weapons attack

Iran has strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons by any country in any part of the world, saying claims about a chemical attack by the Syrian government in Eastern Ghouta are "conspiratorial and illogical."

"Such claims and accusations by the Americans and some Western countries signal a new conspiracy against the Syrian government and nation and a pretext for military action against them," Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday.

He added that using such allegations as a pretext for a military intervention in Syria would "certainly aggravate the situation in this country and in the region."

He added that terrorists would be emboldened by any act of aggression which would not be in favor of peace, stability and security in the region and across the world.

"When the Syrian army has the upper hand on the battlefield against armed terrorists, it would not be rational for it to use chemical weapons," he pointed out.

Qassemi's comments came a few hours after militants and activists linked to them, including the so-called civil defense group White Helmets, claimed that government forces on Saturday had dropped a barrel bomb containing poisonous chemicals in Douma, Eastern Ghouta’s largest town, killing and wounding dozens of civilians.

Damascus, in a statement released late on Saturday, strongly rejected the allegation and said that the so-called Jaish al-Islam Takfiri terrorist group, which has dominant presence in the town, was repeating the allegations of using chemical munitions “in order to accuse the Syrian Arab army, in a blatant attempt to hinder the Army’s advance.”

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 the statement.

Qassemi further said the Islamic Republic, in line with its principle policies and religious teachings and as a victim of chemical weapons itself, denounces the use of chemical weapons in any part of the world.

He added that the alleged chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta is not in conformity with the realities on the ground because the Syrian government has had appropriate cooperation with the United Nations.

Syria surrendered its stockpiles of chemical weapons in 2014 to a joint mission led by the US and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversaw the destruction of the weaponry. Damascus has consistently denied using chemical weapons over the past years of conflict in the country.

Western governments and their allies, however, have never stopped pointing the finger at Damascus whenever an apparent chemical attack takes place.

Read more:

• UN report on use of chemical arms in Syria erroneous: Ja’afari
• UN report on Syria chemical arms unconvincing: Russia

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