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Zarif urges intl. fact-finding mission to probe Syria gas attack

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, arrive for a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 28, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reiterated the Islamic Republic’s stance on the need for the establishment of an international fact-finding committee to investigate the recent chemical attack in Syria.

Zarif made the call during phone conversations on Monday with the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, as well as his Russian, Omani, Syrian and Algerian counterparts, Sergei Lavrov, Yusuf bin Alawi, Walid al-Muallem and Mourad Medelci, respectively.

The senior officials exchanged views about the terrible suspected chemical attack in the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib Province, which killed at least 86 people.

Anti-Damascus militants and Western countries rushed to blame the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad for the incident without providing any evidence to support their accusations.

Syria has categorically denied carrying out the gas attack, with the foreign minister stressing that an Idlib airstrike had targeted a depot, where terrorists stored chemical weapons.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin also on Thursday condemned as unacceptable the “unfounded accusations” about the chemical attack, calling for an international probe.

Putin “pointed out that it was unacceptable to make groundless accusations against anyone without conducting a detailed and unbiased investigation.”

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US missile attack on Syria aggressive act: Russia

Following the phone call between Zarif and Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement, saying the two sides stressed that US missile strikes on Syria were an aggressive act against a sovereign country and violated international law. The statement also echoed Zarif's call for an impartial investigation into the chemical attack.

Using the Idlib tragedy as a pretext, US President Donald Trump ordered the country’s warships in the Mediterranean to carry out a missile attack on Syria. They launched a barrage of 59 Tomahawk missiles against Shayrat Airfield in Syria’s Homs Province early on Friday.

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