Iranian Defense minister:

Era of American order, West's hegemony over

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami says the era of American order and Western hegemony has reached its end and time has come to usher in the post-West age in West Asia.

News ID: 442889

Date: 08 January 2019 - 11:50

RNA - "The Islamic Revolution (in Iran) and the resistance in Syria, Iraq and Yemen show the reality that the West is not the center of regional developments anymore, and the compulsory US exit from Syria indicates the failure of their (the US) strategies in the region," Hatami said in an address to the International Conference on Defense and Security in West Asia in Tehran on Monday.

Last month, US President Donald Trump made an abrupt announcement to withdraw the roughly 2,000 American troops from Syria, claiming that the US had accomplished its goal of defeating Daesh.

“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” Trump said in his Twitter account, using an acronym for the terrorist group.

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri said on December 30 that the United States is only fueling insecurity in the Persian Gulf through its presence in the strategic region.

"The US exit from Syria was the humiliating withdrawal of a country that was present there without the consent and approval of the [Syrian] people and the legal government," Baqeri said.

Elsewhere in his address, Hatami said the West's greed played a leading role in triggering the ongoing developments in regional countries.

Unrest and war in West Asia have emanated from the failed ideology of Western countries, which created unrest and chaos in the region for their own interests, he added.

"West Asia is facing a sensitive era and peace and stability are being restored to this region due to the resistance of [regional] nations," the Iranian defense chief pointed out.

Hatami also touched on the US withdrawal from the landmark nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, including the United States, saying that Washington's move once again showed the real face of America more than ever before for everybody.

The decision also proved that the Americans would resort to every means to harm the independence of countries, he added.

"Those who have refused to fulfill their commitments [as per the JCPOA] have no right to speak about negotiations and making any comment in this regard is ridiculous," Hatami said.

US President Trump withdrew his country in May from the Iran nuclear deal and decided to re-impose unilateral sanctions against Tehran.

Under the deal, reached between Iran and six major powers -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany -- Tehran agreed to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

The US administration hoped to get the other parties to the deal with Iran to likewise scrap the deal, but instead, they stressed that not only would they stick to the agreement, but would also work to sustain it in the face of increased US pressure.

Back in December, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif once again reiterated the ineffectiveness of US sanctions with regard to causing any change in the Islamic Republic's policies, saying that they only hurt "ordinary Iranians."

"They (sanctions) hurt ordinary Iranians, but don't change [the Islamic Republic's] policy," Zarif said in a post on his official Twitter account.

Iran will stand by Syria until full victory: Hatami

In a meeting with Syria's Deputy Defense Minister Major General Mahmoud al-Shawa, the Iranian defense chief hailed the resistance of Syrian government, nation and Armed Forces in their battle against terrorism.

The Syrian people have succeeded in repelling the "big danger" of terrorism in their country and the entire region, Hatami added, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic would stand by the Arab country until its final victory over terrorist groups.

Shawa, for his part, said the Syrian government, nation and Armed Forces managed to make recent achievements in the fight against terrorists thanks to Iran's support.

The Syrian defense official reiterated his country's firm determination to fight terrorists, particularly Daesh, to achieve a final victory.

"At the present time, only one percent of Syria's soil is under occupation of terrorists through the US support, and will definitely take that one percent back from Daesh," he added.

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