The Russian foreign minister has dismissed the accusations by the U.S. and a number of its allies that Iran backs terror, saying the Islamic Republic is in fact a “powerful player” in the fight against terrorist groups in Syria.

In an interview with the American magazine National Interest published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website on Thursday, Sergei Lavrov said there is not even a single fact to substantiate Washington’s claim that Iran is supporting terrorism.

“What we do now with Iran and those that cooperate with us and the Syrian army is fighting terrorists in Syria. Iran is a powerful player on the ground, legitimately invited by the government,” Lavrov said.

Besides its own role, Iran also holds influence on Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, another party which is “legitimately” helping the Syrian army in its counterterrorism operations, added the top Russian diplomat.

He further pointed to Russia’s anti-terrorism campaign in the 1990s in the northern Caucasus region, saying Russia detected no terrorists at all from Iran at that time.

“We know that the political circles in quite a number of countries were really encouraging these terrorist groups to go into the northern Caucasus. Iran had never challenged the sovereignty of the Russian Federation,” Lavrov said.

SP/AK