Page 9 - atoday
P. 9
WORLD NEWS 9
Friday 16 October 2015
Meeting deadline, Syrian troops launch offensive in central Homs province
Iran opens path to
nuke deal passage ALBERT AJI Syria). Any other request terrorist group is moving as province of Sweida.
BASSEM MROUE will be considered and de- a result of the active of- Also Thursday, a Syrian mili-
GEORGE JAHN Associated Press bated in Iran.” fenses of the Syrian armed tary official told AP that the
Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Iranian and Syrian officials forces,” the ministry said, army began an operation
VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. Syrian troops and their al- have long acknowledged using a term to refer to IS. in Homs province aiming
nuclear agency will be lies launched an offensive Iran has advisers and mili- The ministry also said Russia to “restore security to these
able to deliver an assess- in the central province of tary experts in Syria, but de- has “increased the number areas.” The official spoke
ment of the suspicions that Homs on Thursday and Rus-
Iran worked on atomic sia’s government said its Syrian army personnel fire a cannon in Latakia province, about 12 from the border with Turkey
weapons by Dec. 15, as warplanes carried out a in Syria. Backed by Russian airstrikes, the Syrian army has launched an offensive in central and
planned, it said Thursday. rare airstrike near Damas- northwestern regions.
The agency said in a state- cus targeting an Islamic
ment that it has completed State group position south- (Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP)
a series of meetings with east of the capital.
Iranian officials focused on The offensive came as a nied the presence of any of reconnaissance flights on condition of anonym-
“ambiguities” in informa- senior Iranian official told ground troops. Wednes- of aviation and drones” in ity because he was not
tion previously provided by reporters in Damascus that day’s statements by the re- order to verify reports pro- authorized to speak to the
Tehran, allowing the IAEA Tehran would consider gional official and activists vided by a joint information media.
to deliver the report in the sending troops to Syria only were the first confirmation center based in Baghdad. The official said troops cap-
timeframe set out in a deal upon a request from the of Iranian fighters taking The military said Russian air- tured the town of Khaldi-
between Iran and six world Syrian government. part in combat operations strikes on militant positions yeh near the central city of
powers. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the in Syria. have hit a command cen- Hama. State TV said troops
Iran says it never worked head of an influential par- Syria’s state media quoted ter in Aleppo province, a killed several militants in the
on nuclear weapons, and liamentary committee on President Bashar Assad as land mine depot in Idlib, ar- village of Teir Maalah near
it is unclear whether the national security and for- saying during his meeting tillery positions in Hama and the city of Homs, Syria’s
agency will be able to eign policy, reiterated his with Boroujerdi that “efforts Soviet-made air defense third largest.
make a definite ruling on country’s full support for the exerted by friendly coun- systems in eastern Ghouta Homs-based activist Bebars
the allegations. Diplomats Syrian government, stress- tries, on top of them Iran near Damascus. al-Talawy said the offensive
have previously said that ing that a political solution and Russia, to strengthen It was not clear if the air- began early Thursday and
the report may confirm is the only way for Syria to Syria’s steadfastness and strikes on the suburbs of was preceded by intense
only that Iran provided an- emerge from the current helping it in the war on ter- Damascus were the first to air strikes and shelling. He
swers to all IAEA questions crisis. rorism are highly appreci- hit the area since Russia be- added that the aim of the
without saying outright that Boroujerdi’s comments ated by the Syrian people.” gan its airstrikes two weeks government is to open the
the answers confirmed or came despite reports that In Moscow, the Defense ago. highway between the cit-
disproved the suspicions. hundreds of Iranian troops Ministry said the Russian air The head of the Britain- ies of Homs and Hama.
But they say an IAEA ruling have already been de- force cut the number of its based Syrian Observatory “Shells were raining on ci-
that Iran has cooperated ployed in northern and airstrikes over the past 24 for Human Rights, Rami Ab- vilian homes,” al-Talawy
could allow the United central Syria, dramatically hours compared with the durrahman, said the strikes said via Skype. “The air
States and its allies to ac- escalating Tehran’s involve- day before, hitting 32 tar- targeted an IS position in raids even shook the city of
cept an end to decade- ment in the civil war as they gets. the village of Beir Qasab Homs,” several miles away
long attempts to probe the join allied Hezbollah fighters “This is due to the fact that southeast of Damascus on from the front lines, he
allegations. in an ambitious offensive to the front line with the ISIS the edge of the southern said.q
Washington and its allies wrest key areas from rebels.
insist they have evidence A regional official who has
of past nuclear arms work knowledge of operational
by Tehran. But the diplo- details in Syria told The As-
mats say the U.S. is ready sociated Press on Wednes-
to accept a vaguer report day about 1,500 Iranian
than it would normally de- revolutionary guards have
mand because seeking arrived in Syria in the past
further clarity would lead two weeks, taking advan-
to deadlock with Iran that tage of Russian air cover.
would jeopardize the larg- Other Syrian activists also
er agreement. reported the fresh arrival of
That overarching deal was Iranian troops.
reached July 14, but the Asked whether Iran has
date for its adoption is this forces on the ground,
Sunday. That makes IAEA Boroujerdi said: “According
confirmation that Iran met to Iran’s anti-terrorism strat-
the deadline before Sun- egy, we submitted weap-
day important. q ons and experts to those
two countries (Iraq and
