Nasrallah, Iranian delegation discuss strike on Syria

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah held talks with an Iranian delegation which was headed by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of Iran’s parliamentary committee for national security and foreign policy, in an undisclosed location over the anticipated US strike against Syria and the tensions in the region.

The talks between the Hezbollah leader and the Iranian officials focussed on the “developments in the region, particularly in Syria and Lebanon,” said an official statement by the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group .

Hezbollah militants have been fighting in Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against the rebels seeking to overthrow the 40 year old dictatorship

The meeting was also attended by Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Ghadanfar Roknabadi, according to the statement

The Iranian delegation also held separate talks with senior Lebanese leaders over the situation.

National News Agency reported that , following the meeting with Adnan Mansour, the interim foreign minister of Lebanon, Boroujerdi said there is a “US plot against the Middle East region’s security and stability. US President Barack Obama would act wisely and would not rush in his decision on taking a military action against Syria. We hope that the US Congress would have the same level of self-restraint and wisdom to prevent acts that threaten the security of the region.”

Last week, Obama said he would seek the authorization of Congress for a military strike on Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons.

The Iranian delegation first stopped in Syria and met with Assad in Damascus.

Iran and its proxy Hezbollah are both Shiites. They have both been strongly supporting Assad who belongs to the minority Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam against the mostly Sunni rebels.

Following his meetings in Beirut, Boroujerdi travelled to Beiteddine, the president’s summer residence in the Chouf region of Mount Lebanon , for talks with the Lebanese president Michel Suleiman .

During the meeting, President Suleiman stressed the dangers that could result from a military strike on Syria, a statement from the president’s office said.

“Suleiman renewed Lebanon’s fundamental principle which calls for non-military intervention while condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria ,” the statement said.

On Monday, Boroujerdi warned that a military strike on Syria would engulf the entire region and threaten American and Israeli interests.

Iranian and Russian officials have been warning against a possible Western military strike on Syria to punish the regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.