US missile attacks on Syria smacks of jungle law: Iran Judiciary chief

Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani says the recent missile attack by the US against a Syrian army air base was a clear example of the application of the law of the jungle, warning that supporting terrorism will backfire on Washington.

Addressing a meeting with high-ranking judicial officials in Tehran on Monday, Larijani added that claims about the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons in the country were only a pretext for the aggressive US act.

He said such unwise and irrational approaches would ultimately turn out to be detrimental to Washington and warned the sponsors of terrorists, particularly the US and some European countries, that supporting terrorism will one day come back to haunt them if they carry on with their double standard policies.

The top Iranian judicial official reiterated the need for the formation of a fact-finding committee to probe the issue of the use of chemical arms in Syria.

“A few years ago, Syria was disarmed of its chemical weapons by the Americans themselves and if there is any doubt about the existence of chemical weapons, a fact-finding committee must be set up to examine this issue rather than the launch of a unilateral military attack in violation of international law,” Larijani said.

“The conscientious know that Western countries are covertly arming and equipping Takfiri [terrorist] groups and pursue their own arrogant objectives under the pretext of fighting terrorism,” he added.

At least 86 people were killed in a gas attack in the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib Province. Anti-Damascus militants and Western countries rushed to blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the incident, without providing any evidence to support their accusations.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday called for the formation of an “impartial” international fact-finding committee to look into the alleged chemical attack in Idlib.

“An international fact-finding mission should be formed to shed light on the issue,” the president said.

Read more:

• International probe must be launched in reported Syria gas attack: Iran president

The Iranian judiciary chief further warned that the pursuit of selective approaches to terrorism would escalate the terrorists’ criminal acts across the world, urging serious and real measures to counter the vicious phenomenon.

He urged regional countries supporting terrorism as well as the US and some European states to act wisely and stop sponsoring terrorists and arming them.

US military officials said 59 Tomahawk missiles were fired from warships deployed to the Mediterranean at Syria's Shayrat airfield on Friday in response to the Idlib attack.

Read more:

• US strikes in Syria violate UN Charter: Rouhani, Putin
• US missile strikes against Syria strategic mistake: Ayat. Khamenei

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