Russian, Iranian Parliamentarians Discuss Reconstruction Efforts in Syria

Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani holds a news conference in Istanbul January 22, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani holds a news conference in Istanbul January 22, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
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Russian, Iranian Parliamentarians Discuss Reconstruction Efforts in Syria

Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani holds a news conference in Istanbul January 22, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani holds a news conference in Istanbul January 22, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani and Russian Parliament speaker Vyacheslav Vallodin held talks on the sidelines of an anti-drug conference in Moscow on Monday.

The talks dealt with several issues, first and foremost the situation in Syria.

Speaking at presser afterward, Larijani told reporters that both Russia and Iran affirmed their determination to continue cooperation to combat terrorism, pointing out that the cooperation between the two countries in this area in Syria “made progress, and saw important achievements.”

Larijani also criticized the US military presence in Syria, calling it "illegal”.

"We look suspiciously at the role of the United States in Syria. They establish military bases there and carry out adventures. "

He also condemned Israeli operations in Syria and said they were "military drills" that caused problems in the region.

For his part, Leonid Slutsky, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma's Committee on International Affairs, said the committee would hold a meeting with the Iranian parliamentary delegation. The two sides will discuss the reconstruction efforts for Syria’s infrastructure.

RIA Novosti quoted Slutsky as saying that parliamentarians from both countries will also discuss the activities of the ‘Shiite police’ in areas where Shiite citizens live in Syria.

US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman said in an interview to the newspaper Vedomosti that discussing US withdrawal from Syria will be possible only after terrorism is abolished there.

Huntsman pointed out that all the terrorists can be expelled from Syria’s Raqqa and from the Euphrates region in general. “But they can regroup and regain their strength,” he said, stressing that “for this reason it is necessary to ensure that the war on terror is successfully completed before withdrawing troops.”

The two presidents made great progress at their meeting in Vietnam's Da Nang, the ambassador said in an interview.

Huntsman added that he considered the content of talks more important than their length, and the meeting between Putin and Trump in Da Nang was important in terms of content.

The joint statement of Putin and Trump was issued on November 11, following their meeting on the sidelines of the APEC conference in Vietnam. The two presidents confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIS in Syria and also agreed on the inadmissibility of a military solution for Syria.



Lebanon: Hezbollah Says it Launches First Drone Attack on Israel's Ashdod Naval Base

File photo: Members of Israeli security and emergency services deploy at the site of a shooting on the Yavne interchange, near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on October 15, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
File photo: Members of Israeli security and emergency services deploy at the site of a shooting on the Yavne interchange, near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on October 15, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
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Lebanon: Hezbollah Says it Launches First Drone Attack on Israel's Ashdod Naval Base

File photo: Members of Israeli security and emergency services deploy at the site of a shooting on the Yavne interchange, near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on October 15, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
File photo: Members of Israeli security and emergency services deploy at the site of a shooting on the Yavne interchange, near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on October 15, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

Lebanon's Hezbollah has launched a drone attack on the Ashdod naval base in southern Israel for the first time, the Iran-backed group said on Sunday in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the attack.
On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut killed at least 20 people, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon's capital continued without warning while diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said 66 people were wounded in the strikes, which were the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week.
US envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region in pursuit of a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.
Also Saturday, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre. Other airstrikes killed eight people, including four children, in the eastern town of Shmustar, five others in the southern village of Roumin, and another five people in the northeastern village of Budai.