Syria: Commander: US Targeting Syria after Failure to Wage Attack on Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian army commander said the US has targeted Syria after it failed to attack the Islamic Republic, adding that unity of the nation and the wise leadership of Iran thwarted the US invasion against the country.

Addressing a group of Army forces on Saturday, Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said the US planned September 11, 2001 attacks and accused Muslim countries in a bid to find an excuse to wage an attack on the Middle-East.

"To that end they resorted to preemptive strikes and occupied Afghanistan first and then Iraq. The Islamic Republic of Iran, too, was their next target but due to the very wise leadership of (Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution) Ayatollah (Seyed Ali) Khamenei and the unity among the Iranian nation they (Americans) failed to attain their objective, and then pointed their guns at that country which supports resistance (against Israel and the US), that was Syria."

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad's government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons - most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past - has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month. http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107137001