Foreign Minister: Iran ready to immediately dispatch humanitarian aid, rescue teams to Syria’s Idlib

Iran’s foreign minister says the Islamic Republic is ready to immediately dispatch humanitarian aid convoys and rescue teams to Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib as millions of people are in urgent need of food, shelter and warm clothes after Monday’s powerful earthquakes.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a telephone conversation with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on Thursday evening.

The top Iranian diplomat reiterated Iran’s readiness to help the Syrian and Turkish victims of the devastating earthquake, stating that it has already sent rescue teams to both countries and voiced preparedness to receive those injured in the quake at Iranian hospitals.

He called on international bodies to pay greater attention to the critical situation in the Arab nation in the face of Western sanctions, noting that due to the anti-Syrian sanctions, the situation of the Syrian people has dramatically deteriorated following the earthquake.

Death toll tops 21,000 from Turkey-Syria quake as hopes for survivors fade

The death toll from this week

Amir-Abdollahian described the humanitarian situation in Syria’s Idlib region as sensitive, stressing that Tehran is ready to immediately send rescue teams and humanitarian aid convoys to Idlib, and that the ICRC is expected to coordinate with the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) on the dispatch and distribution of relief commodities among ordinary people in the area, which is out of the Damascus government’s control.

For her part, Egger appreciated Iran’s humanitarian efforts and said the ICRC will extensively assess the situation in quake-hit areas in northwestern Syria, and will then make necessary arrangements about Iran’s valuable initiatives and how to implement them.

Need for greater assistance 

In a separate a telephone conversation with the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Amir-Abdollahian underlined the importance of increased humanitarian aid convoys to quake-hit areas in Syria.

He also expressed the Islamic Republic's readiness to send rescue teams to Syria’s Idlib.

Guterres, for his part, stated that the UN will employ all its means to help quake-stricken people, especially those in Syria.

Hezbollah urges Lebanese people to generously help Syrians

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has called upon all strata of the Lebanese society to generously help the Syrian victims of the earthquake.

“We feel it is our religious and humanitarian duty to help Syrians in the aftermath of the massive quake, which has leveled many houses to the ground, killed thousands of men, women and children, and left many more injured and displaced. We are duty-bound to mobilize all our facilities to assist the Syrian government and nation as they have always stood at our side in the times of need,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

President Assad: Many countries ‘under US pressure’ not to help quake-stricken Syria

President Assad says many countries are "under pressure from the United States" not to help quake-stricken Syria.

The resistance movement emphasized it has collected over the past few days foodstuff, medical supplies, and other basic commodities for Syrians, but the monumental scale of the natural calamity requires much greater assistance.

Hezbollah finally urged the entire Lebanese nation to show up at its affiliated institutions and financial institution Qard al-Hassan, and make donations to their Syrian brethren and sisters.

Hashd al-Sha’abi warns of potential US strikes on Syria-bound aid convoys

The director of the media bureau of Iraqi anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units, known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi, also said the anti-terror force has already sent humanitarian aid convoys to quake-devastated areas in northern Syria, warning of potential US airstrikes against the trucks.

Mohand al-Aqabi told the Lebanese Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network that his comrades have launched a major campaign to help Syrians, and have therefore dispatched medical supplies and food to the neighboring country.

“Every noble person should stand by the side of the Syrian government and people, as the Arab nation has been suffering a lot as a result of Western coercive measures and foreign-sponsored militancy,” he noted.

Turkey-Syria quake: Damascus slams West’s discrimination, US sanctions against Syrians

Syria says more aid shipments are sent to Turkey compared to Syria following the devastating earthquakes that hit both countries.

Bashar al-Jaafari, Syria’s ambassador to Moscow, lambasted on Thursday the West’s discrimination against Syrian people, saying more aid shipments were being sent to Turkey than Syria following the devastating earthquakes that hit both countries.

Jaafari also denounced US sanctions that are hampering relief work in quake-stricken areas of the Arab country, saying they are “a serious obstacle” to the flow of aid to Syria.

The disastrous earthquake hit Turkey and neighboring Syria in the wee hours of Monday. The 7.8-magnitude temblor has so far killed more than 21,000 people in the two countries.

As rescue efforts continue in Syria following the massive earthquakes, calls are growing for the US and its allies to remove their sanctions.

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