Iran says no-fly zone over Syria to empower terrorists

The no-fly zone proposal for Syria will only strengthen the terrorists and their supporters, a senior Iranian military official said on Sunday.

Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said that recent pushes by some US officials to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria are aimed to control the Arab country through terrorists, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Americans are against Syrian airplanes' bombing of the terrorists' positions, hence, they attempt to empower the militants by enforcing a no-fly zone, said Vahidi, the former Iranian Defence Minister, according to Tasnim news agency.

Last week, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani also said in New York that only the terrorist groups will benefit from the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Syria.

Latest proposal by the US Secretary of State John Kerry involves grounding combat aviation over specific parts of the Arab country to ensure the safety of passages for humanitarian aids to the besieged civilians.

Syria and its allies, including Iran and Russia, have been against the proposal which, they say, is a demand to stop eliminating those who continue their fight against the Syrian army and kill civilians.

--IANS

lok/