TEHRAN - The spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry has criticized the Thursday bomb attack on Damascus and urged the international community to assist Syria by working to lift the “cruel sanctions” imposed on the Arab country.

Nasser Kanaani offered condolences to the Syrian government and nation, and families of the victims of the tragic motorcycle explosion near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine in a southern suburb of the capital Damascus.

“At a time when the innocent people of Syria suffer from the U.S. and some Western states’ cruel sanctions, under the painful silence of the global community, terrorist groups backed by the Zionist regime and the U.S. commit such heinous crimes,” Kanaani noted on Thursday. 

The Iranian official urged the international community to denounce recent terror acts as well as Israeli aerial strikes on Syria, and to fight to lift Western sanctions against Syria.

“Considering the years-long fight of the Syrian government and nation against terrorism, the global community and international organizations would do well to take immediate and effective measures to remove the unilateral and cruel American and Western sanctions on Syria and to send humanitarian aid to the country,” Kanaani stated.
 
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack which came on the eve of Ashura, the day marking the martyrdom anniversary of Hussein ibn Ali (AS), the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (S).

Some Shia Muslims from different countries congregate to the shrine of Sayeda Zeinab, the sister of Imam Hussein and the granddaughter of the Prophet.

It was the second attack this week near the shrine. Two people were wounded in a separate blast on Tuesday.

Iran blasts Israeli minister’s entry into al-Aqsa Mosque

Kanaani also denounced the incursion into the historic al-Aqsa Mosque complex in the Old City of al-Quds by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and settlers.

In a message on his account on Twitter on Thursday, he alerted about a global Zionist scheme to desecrate Muslim holy sites.

He said that the scheme involves heinous acts such as the burning of copies of the holy Quran and the violation of Muslims’ first qibla — the direction which Muslims face to perform their prayers — at the Al-Aqsa Mosque site.

“The vicious presence of the Zionists’ cabinet minister at al-Aqsa Mosque was another measure in line with disrespecting Muslim sanctities and hurting the feelings of Muslims worldwide, and is, therefore, condemned,” Kanaani added. 

Additionally, the move received strong condemnation from the resistance Hamas group, which called it a severe aggravation against sacred Palestinian sites.

In a statement on Thursday, the spokesman for Hamas, Hazem Qassem, said that these acts were a result of the regime’s “religious war” against Palestinians. According to him, it was an act that “provokes the feelings of the Muslim Ummah and freedom-seeking people across the world.”

The Hamas spokesman said Palestinians will defend the al-Aqsa Mosque at any cost, and will make sustained efforts to preserve the Muslim and Arab identities of al-Quds city.

“The Palestinian nation will not allow the Israeli regime to advance its aggressive conspiracies in al-Quds” Qassem stated.