Syrian crisis can't be solved militarily: Iran speaker

Regime change in Syria cannot be achieved under military pressure, Speaker of the Iranian parliament Ali Larijani said Monday.

He added that after four years of the Syrian crisis, the US was convinced that a solution would come through political means.

"Democracy is built slowly and not through violent revolutions. Political and social reforms cannot be achieved under tank fire," Larijani said, while addressing a gathering at the Lebanese University, according to a Xinhua report.

"Each time the US comes and occupies an area, a terrorist movement emerges, just as it happened in Afghanistan and Iraq, and this is the result of the militarisation of a crisis," he added.

Larijani also noted that some political groups in the region "are more effective" than countries, citing Hezbollah as one of them.

"Hezbollah is an effective organisation in the Middle East, just as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are both considered as strong resistance symbols, " he said.

Larijani lamented the emergence of "terrorist, destructive organisations like the Islamic State (IS)", stressing that "we must not overlook these movements".

Earlier, Larijani hailed the efforts by his Lebanese counterpart Nabih Berri in facilitating the anticipated dialogue between Lebanon's rival factions.

He noted that Iran has consistently called for political settlements that would curb the rise of widespread extremist movements, particularly in Syria.

Larijani arrived in Beirut Monday on a two-day visit. He is expected to visit Iraq on his way back to Iran.