Iranian FM condemns Western strikes on Syria

Iran’s foreign minister condemns the Western strikes on Syria, saying no country has a right to take punitive measures against another “beyond international procedures.”

The semi-official Fars news agency quotes Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying that Iran had warned about the possibility that “terrorist groups” were behind the alleged chemical attack that triggered the strikes. It says he communicated his concerns in a phone call Sunday with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose forces have been accused of carrying out a chemical weapons attack near Damascus a week ago that opposition activists and rescuers say killed more than 40 people.

The attack prompted the US, Britain and France to carry out a missile attack on Syrian military targets early Saturday.

— AP