Iran, Russia, Turkey vow to preserve Syria’s sovereignty
Iran’s Navy added two Ghadir-class submarines to its fleet in a ceremony held in southern Iran on Thursday. The submarines are capable of launching subsurface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes and mines.
Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi attended the ceremony at the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, which was held on the occasion of Navy Day.
The Ghadir-class submarines are designed to cruise within the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf to ensure peace and security of Iran’s maritime borders.
Iran has so far launched different classes of domestically-built advanced submarines including Ghadir, Qaem, Nahang, Tareq and Sina.
On Friday, Khanzadi said that the new generation of two Iranian destroyers will also join the naval fleet on Saturday.
Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great headway in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere. In recent years, Iran’s naval forces have increased their presence in international waters to secure naval routes and protect merchant vessels and oil tankers against pirates. The guarantor states of the Astana peace process ended their 11th round of talks in the Kazakh capital, reiterating their strong commitment to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Iran, Russia and Syria on Thursday also rejected “all desperate attempts” by foreign-backed militant groups to undermine the sovereignty of the Syrian nation, Press TV reported.
Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-ja’afari called on all foreign forces operating without the permission of Damascus to leave the Arab country.
He also accused the US, Britain, France and Turkey of illegally dispatching troops to Syria and occupying some parts of the country.
In a declaration, the participants in the Astana talks also strongly denounced militant groups for firing shells filled with chlorine gas at Syria’s northern city of Aleppo this week.
The chemical attack was launched from an area in the Idlib de-escalation zone which is controlled by the Jabhat Fateh al-sham, formerly known as Nusra Front.
In the past, the United States and its allies used chemical attacks as a pretext to carry out missile strikes against Syria.
The 11th round of talks began Wednesday, with the participation of representatives from the Damascus government and opposition as well as the three guarantor states of the Astana peace process.
The discussions mainly focused on the situation in the de-escalation zone set up in Idlib Province and the creation of a constitutional committee in the wartorn country.
The 10th round of talks within the Astana format took place in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on July 30-31.
The Astana talks have so far resulted in the return of a succession of militant bastions to the government fold, the establishment of safe zones across Syria and the movement of civilians to those regions.