TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday refuted the speculation that Iran will change its policy of supporting the resistance front and fighting terrorism after the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

“There will be no change in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s path of supporting resistance and fighting terrorism in the region after martyrdom of General Soleimani,” Zarif said during a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

For his part, Assad said that General Soleimani played an important role in fighting terrorism.

He also praised the Iranians for supporting the Syrian people in hard times.

In a drone strike on January 3, the U.S. military martyred General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), in Baghdad’s international airport.

General Soleimani was a legendary commander in the fight against terrorist groups, especially Daesh, in Syria and Iraq.

‘U.S. real intentions have been revealed’

Zarif also said that the United States’ real intentions have been revealed as it refused to lift sanctions on the countries that are struggling with the coronavirus pandemic.

Zarif and Assad also discussed the latest developments in Syria and the Astana peace process.

In line with their security cooperation, Iran, Turkey, and Russia - three power brokers in Syria - launched the Astana peace talks on the Syrian crisis. The talks were launched in January 2017 with the aim of putting an end to the Syrian conflict.

Kazakhstan has hosted multiple rounds of talks on Syria since January 2017 most of which involved delegations from the Syrian government and opposition.

Zarif also held a separate meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

NA/PA