Iran engaged in "malignant behavior" in Syria: White House
Reuters – 9 hrs ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday accused Iran of "malignant behavior" for propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and warned anew that the country's conflict could explode into a wider proxy war unless Assad steps down.
In sharp comments toward Tehran, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that Iran was exploiting the violence in Syria to entrench its regional sway.
"That fact further highlights Iran's continued effort
to expand its nefarious influence in the region, and underscores Iran's
fear of a Syria without the Assad regime," he told reporters at the
White House.European and U.S. security officials say Iran has offered Assad extensive support, including weapons and ammunition, to shore up a vital ally.
Carney's comments came amid growing concern in some world capitals that the Syrian bloodshed could devolve further into a proxy war - with Iran being only one of the outside players.
The Gulf state of Qatar, a close friend of Washington,
has provided weapons to the Syrian opposition, according to Western
officials, and there have been hints Saudi Arabia has done likewise.
Some U.S. politicians want President Barack Obama to arm the opposition, with pressure hardening after a weekend massacre blamed on Assad.
Also, human rights groups and Western officials told
Reuters on Thursday that a Russian cargo ship heavily laden with weapons
docked at the Syrian port of Tartus last weekend.
Susan Rice, U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, on Wednesday laid out a worst-case
scenario in which Syria, a mainly Sunni Muslim country whose Alawite
leader is allied to Shi'ite Iran, could become a proxy conflict,
prompting world powers to take unilateral action.
Carney, claiming that Iran was engaged in "malignant
behavior" in Syria, said the international community must up pressure
for Assad to leave to stop the conflict from widening.
He said Washington
was working with the Russians, who together with China have previously
vetoed tougher UN Security Council action against Assad, to persuade
them of the "horrific" risks of allowing the conflict to escalate.
Russian President
Vladimir Putin has given no sign that he will drop Moscow's opposition
to tougher sanctions or related action against Syria.
"The consequences
of not taking that firm action are more violence, violence that spills
over Syria's borders, violence that results in even greater
participation in this by Iran...and others, to the point that it becomes
a proxy war," Carney said.
Washington is
separately pushing, along with European allies, for Tehran to curb its
nuclear program, which the West says is secretly pursuing an atomic bomb
but Iran insists is purely for peaceful purposes.
(Reporting By Alister Bull, Mark Hosenball and Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Warren Strobel and Cynthia Osterman)
end quote from:
http://news.yahoo.com/iran-engaged-malignant-behavior-syria-white-house-191047784.html
The real problem is that Iran and possibly Russia too could be considered to be waging a proxy war to keep Assad in Power. Iran is supplying both Iranian soldiers and weapons inside of Syria to Assad and Russia is sending ships full of weapons to keep Assad in power mostly because they want to keep their sea port in Syria. However, because of all the ongoing massacres of Sunni civilians many middle eastern countries are going to be sending more weapons to the Syrian Rebels. In addition to this, there are now 12,000 coalition troops training in Jordan to go into Syria before it explodes throughout Lebanon(which is has been a problem already) and into Iraq, Jordan, Israel and into other nations in the middle east. This whole thing is beginning to spin out of the control of any one group, alliance or faction. This isn't good for anyone at present, especially not for Assad.
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