Iran rejects Syria retaliation report in western paper

Spokesman for Iran's UN mission in New York Alireza Miryousefi dismissed as “baseless” the recent accusations leveled in a US media outlet that Tehran has asked “militants in Iraq” to retaliate against US interests in case of an attack on Syria. Alireza Miryousefi categorically denied the allegation in a recent report carried by the Wall Street Journal, and said that such unfounded claims are meant to “provoke the US Congress” to authorize a strike on Syria. The Iranian official said such accusations are aimed at fanning the flames of the ongoing crisis in Syria and inciting US lawmakers to authorize another destructive war in the Middle-East. In recent days, the US and other western countries have adopted the rhetoric of war against Syria over allegations that the Syrian government was behind a recent chemical attack near Damascus. The call for military strike intensified after the militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed on August 21 that hundreds had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar. The Syrian government has strongly denied the claim, accusing the militants of the attack.