WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV Newsroom's headlines from 09:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, April 15, 2017.

Rouhani calls Putin

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has described Saturday’s missile strikes on Syria as an aggressive act aimed at raising the morale of defeated terrorists in the country. During a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Rouhani noted that the US-led attacks on Syria showed that Washington has direct ties with the terrorists in Syria. He said that when the US felt that the terrorists are losing a strategic region like Eastern Ghouta, it reacted by conducting missile strikes on Syria. The Iranian president noted that the US, France and Britain do not want stability in Syria. Putin said for his part that further missile attacks would lead to chaos in international relations. The two presidents agreed that the missile strikes have damaged the prospect of a political resolution to the conflict in the Arab country.

Attackers ‘aggressive nature’

Leader of Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah says the US and its allies launched a limited attack on Syria as they knew the consequences of a full-scale offensive. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the timing of the recent strikes showed the aggressive nature of the US, Britain and France. He said the attacks came over an alleged chemical attack just before experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were about to reach its purported site in the town of Douma. He stressed that there are no chemical arms facilities in Syria, noting that the US and its allies used the issue as a pretext to go ahead with their aggression. Nasrallah then pointed out that the onslaught was meant to demoralize the Syrian army and nation but it proved to act vice versa. He said the attacks did not even damage the prospects of a political peace process which is underway to end the crisis in Syria.

US Syria ‘aggression’

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has dismissed the US-led missile strike on his country as an act of aggression. Assad made the comment in a meeting with a group of Russian lawmakers. He also praised air defense systems used by Syria to help intercept some of the missiles. The meeting came after the US, France and Britain launched missile strikes on Syria on Saturday. Moscow says Syria used Russian-made air defense systems to intercept 71 of more than a hundred missiles fired at the Arab country.

UK Syria airstrikes

Britain’s opposition leader has called for a War Powers Act to stop Prime Minister Theresa May from launching bombing raids without consulting the parliament first. Jeremy Corbyn was reacting to the airstrikes carried out by the UK, the US and France against Syria early on Saturday morning. He said the legal basis used to support the British airstrikes is debatable. The Labour leader added that he would only support action backed by the United Nations Security Council. Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended the premier’s decision to join the air raids on Syria despite a global outcry.

OPCW agents in Syria

Syria says inspectors from the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will soon begin their work at an alleged chemical attack site near Damascus. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Sussan said the team of inspectors is already in Syria and is scheduled to visit the recently-liberated town of Douma. The ministry added that the investigation team will be able to work free from any pressure. The OPCW experts will seek to confirm whether a chemical incident happened in the area amid claims that sarin and chlorine gases were used by the Syrian army there on April 7. The US and its allies used the allegation to launch strikes on Syria on Saturday.

‘Questionable’ airstrikes

Iran says no country has the right to arbitrarily execute punitive measures on other states outside the framework of international law. In a phone conversation between the Iranian foreign minister and his British counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed the recent attacks on Syria by the United States, Britain and France. He said that the raids are questionable because they were carried out before any investigation into the alleged chemical attack in Syria. The senior Iranian diplomat noted that the raids were conducted at the exact time when the Syrian troops had the upper hand in the fight against terrorism. Zarif reiterated Iran's opposition to the use of chemical weapons anywhere in the world.

Catalans out on streets

Thousands of Catalans have marched through the city of Barcelona calling for the independence of their region from Spain. Waving Catalan flags, protesters from trade unions and civil organizations chanted slogans in support of their jailed leaders. The protesters called on the government to free Catalan figures facing charges of rebellion over their involvement in last year’s independence referendum. Spain launched a crackdown in Catalonia after the former government of the region declared independence from Madrid in late October last year. Senior leaders of the independence drive were arrested on charges of rebellion and sedition. Arrest warrants were also issued for former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and a number of his cabinet members.

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