The ambassador to Syria said the West has been forced to change its policy toward Syria as a result of the resistance put up by the people of the Arab country.
Mohammad Reza Rauf Sheibani also ruled out the possibility of toppling Basher al-Assad's administration by the West, ISNA reported on Sunday.
He said the shift in policy does not indicate that the West has abandoned its hostile approach toward Syria, "but the Syrian nation's resistance and the realities in the country have made them take such a position."
He referred to Iran's stance toward the crisis in Syria and said, "The principled policy of Iran on Syria has always been to oppose any foreign intervention and reject any military option vis-à-vis the Syrian crisis."
"Iran deems any military solution (to the crisis) unacceptable, and accordingly it stresses the need to deal with the challenges in Syria through (holding) comprehensive negotiations between Syrian political groups."
Referring to the root causes of the crisis, he said the Syrian people have some real demands that should be respected and addressed by the government, adding that to this end, Iran tries to take the most advantage of its influence with Syrian officials to convince them to appropriately respond to such demands.
He continued that such popular demands are not limited to Syria, but many regional countries, particularly the Arab states, are faced with the same public pressure.
He stated, "Since Syria plays a pivotal role in resistance, the West, the Zionist regime, and some Arab and regional states have hatched plots against Syria to undermine the resistance front."
He added that Iran strongly opposes the economic sanctions imposed on the Syrian nation by western and Arab countries and on the contrary, it provides the Syrian nation with every support on the basis of an approved principle of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy.
