Iran says Syria’s future unclear after foreign minister hits back
Al JazeeraThe foreign minister of the new government in Damascus says Iran must not ‘spread chaos’ in Syria. Iran’s top diplomat has said it is too soon to judge Syria’s future as many developments could affect it after his counterpart in the fledgling Syrian government heavily criticised Tehran. The comments came after Syria’s new Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani told Iran it must respect the will of the Syrian people and the country’s sovereignty and security. Khamenei said Iran was partly repaying Syria since Hafez al-Assad, the deposed president’s father, assisted Iran when it was being invaded by neighbouring Iraq in the 1980s by cutting off a crucial Iraqi oil pipeline. Syria’s interim Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week the ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from al-Assad’s army.