Plan to ‘crash’ Syrian rebels

– Militants must be “cleaned out” of Syria’s Idlib province, Iran’s foreign minister said yesterday as he prepared for talks about confronting the last major enclave held by rebels.

Syrian state forces are preparing a phased offensive in Idlib and surrounding areas held by rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally who has also been backed by Iran.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that they viewed the assault on Idlib as an escalation of Syria’s war, and the State Department warned that Washington would respond to any chemical attack by Damascus.

Iranian Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke at the start of a visit to Damascus for talks with Syrian officials about a September 7 meeting between Iran, Turkey and Russia on confronting militants in Idlib, Iranian state media reported. – Reuters

Tehran