(Cartoon by Khalil Bendib)
"Iran is unhappy about ongoing indirect talks between Syria and Israel and believes that any ensuing peace agreement would lead to radical changes in Syrian-Iranian relations, an Iranian official said in remarks published Monday.
Hussein Shariatmadari, an advisor to Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that Tehran was unhappy that Islamic countries like Syria and Turkey were holding talks with Israel.
"We always say there is no country called Israel in the region. This country is called Palestine. So, it is normal that we reject any negotiations between an Islamic state, like Syria or Turkey, and an illegitimate, non-existent state," Shariatmadari said......
"Negotiations over prisoner exchange does not mean that Hezbollah recognizes Israel. Hamas too, like Iran and Hezbollah, does not recognize a thing called Israel. A truce agreement is not a recognition of the state of Israel," the Iranian official said.
Relations between Syria and Iran will be subject to radical changes if Damascus signs a peace agreement with Israel, Shariatmadari said but added that this was his personal view.
"But I think that the signing of such an agreement would be also against the opinion of Iran, the Iranian government and the Iranian people," he added.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has said that Damascus would establish normal relations, including the opening of embassies, if a peace agreement was sealed with Israel. Assad made his comments on Sunday in Paris, where he attended the inauguration of an EU-Mediterranean union that brings together northern and southern countries that ring the sea, including Syria and Israel.....
Regarding negotiations between Syria and Israel, the French ambassador voiced hope that by the beginning of the coming year, contacts between the sides could bring about a visit by Assad to the Knesset, or a visit by President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Damascus......."
Hussein Shariatmadari, an advisor to Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that Tehran was unhappy that Islamic countries like Syria and Turkey were holding talks with Israel.
"We always say there is no country called Israel in the region. This country is called Palestine. So, it is normal that we reject any negotiations between an Islamic state, like Syria or Turkey, and an illegitimate, non-existent state," Shariatmadari said......
"Negotiations over prisoner exchange does not mean that Hezbollah recognizes Israel. Hamas too, like Iran and Hezbollah, does not recognize a thing called Israel. A truce agreement is not a recognition of the state of Israel," the Iranian official said.
Relations between Syria and Iran will be subject to radical changes if Damascus signs a peace agreement with Israel, Shariatmadari said but added that this was his personal view.
"But I think that the signing of such an agreement would be also against the opinion of Iran, the Iranian government and the Iranian people," he added.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has said that Damascus would establish normal relations, including the opening of embassies, if a peace agreement was sealed with Israel. Assad made his comments on Sunday in Paris, where he attended the inauguration of an EU-Mediterranean union that brings together northern and southern countries that ring the sea, including Syria and Israel.....
Regarding negotiations between Syria and Israel, the French ambassador voiced hope that by the beginning of the coming year, contacts between the sides could bring about a visit by Assad to the Knesset, or a visit by President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Damascus......."
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