Tehran, IRNA - Secretary of Iran's National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian has warned that the United States seeks to stir up “manufactured crises” in Syria to maintain its illegitimate military presence in the country.

“In an effort to disrupt the new process of de-escalation in the region, Washington seeks to create manufactured crises in Syria through military campaigns and controlled conflicts,” Ahmadian said in a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Tehran on Tuesday.

By doing so, he added, Washington is looking to reassert itself as an influential player in regional dynamics and maintain its unlawful and illegitimate presence in Syria.

Having failed to achieve their objectives through the 2011 conflict, Ahmadian said Syria’s adversaries are now determined to disrupt the country’s security and political stability by other means, including political pressure and economic sanctions.

The top security official added that Iran views the recent improvements in diplomatic relations between Syria and regional countries as a key step towards resolving regional disputes.

This progress not only promotes stability and sustainable security but also sets the stage for a reduction of “interventionist and destabilizing foreign forces” in Syria and beyond, he noted.

Highlighting the strategic ties between Iran and Syria in political and security domains, particularly in the wake of President Ebrahim Raisi's recent visit to Syria, Ahmadian said Iran was fully ready to expand mutual ties, especially in the economic sphere.

Mekdad, in turn, expressed Syria’s firm determination to strengthen all aspects of cooperation with the Islamic Republic, and said “good decisions” were made during President Raisi's visit to Damascus in May.

Furthermore, the top diplomat criticized the unlawful US military presence in Syria in violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He also condemned the Israeli regime’s repeated aggression against Syrian territory as a “clear example of state-sponsored terrorism.”

Terrorism, military aggression, and cruel sanctions will not create a dent in the Syrian nation’s resolve to resist against the enemy, Mekdad said.  

He also pointed out that huge economic potentials exist between Syria and Iran, urging an increased presence of Iranian state and private enterprises in the Syrian market.

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