Iranian FM Urges All ‘Foreign Elements’ Keep Out Of Syria

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012 file photo, Syrian rebel fighter, Mohammed Adnan, 21, center, who was shot in the shoulder by a government sniper on Saturday while fighting in Aleppo, rests with other fighters a... FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012 file photo, Syrian rebel fighter, Mohammed Adnan, 21, center, who was shot in the shoulder by a government sniper on Saturday while fighting in Aleppo, rests with other fighters at their headquarters in Suran, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria. Fighters who took up weapons against President Bashar Assad's forces, inspired by other Arab uprisings that toppled neighboring dictators, have turned their guns on each other, trapping ordinary Syrians in the violence of two parallel wars and tearing what is left of the country apart. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File) MORE LESS
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DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister is calling for all “foreign elements” to leave Syria so its people can decide their future themselves.

Speaking on a panel discussion about the Middle East at the World Economic Forum, Javad Zarif said Iran also wants to see an end to foreign support for opponents of President Bashar Assad’s government and a recognition by all sides that there can be no military solution to the conflict. He said Tehran hoped for a negotiated settlement.

Iran is one of Assad’s closest allies and has been widely criticized in the West for sending fighters to Syria and for supporting Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, which is battling on the government’s side.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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