Iranian official says U.S. creates crises to extend stay in Syria

TEHRAN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian security official said on Tuesday that the United States seeks to extend its illegal and illegitimate presence in Syria by creating crises in the Arab state.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Akbar Ahmadian made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in the capital Tehran, official news agency IRNA reported.

Ahmadian said the United States is creating crises in Syria by launching military campaigns and controlled conflicts with the intention of undermining the region's new trend of de-escalation and tension-reduction and passing itself off as an important and influential player in the Arab state's affairs.

"The global hegemonic system" has exerted political and international pressures and imposed severe economic sanctions on Syria, while supporting terrorist activities of the Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front in the Arab state, he added.

Iran welcomes Syria's recent improvement in diplomatic relations with a number of the regional countries and views it as an important step toward the resolution of the differences among Muslim states, which will lead to lasting stability and security and reduced foreign interferences in the region, the SNSC chief noted.

Ahmadian hailed the strategic ties between Iran and Syria in the political and security areas, expressing Tehran's readiness to strengthen economic cooperation with Damascus.

The Syrian minister, for his part, said Damascus is determined and ready to develop its relations with Tehran in all areas.

"The illegal U.S. military presence in Syria is a violation of the country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Mekdad said, adding the United States seeks to revive terrorist cells in Syria to undermine its lasting stability.