Syria has given the green light to UN inspectors, Iran says

The Guardian

The Syrian government has told Iran it will allow UN inspectors to visit areas reportedly affected by chemical weapons, according to the Iranian foreign minister, quoted on Iran's Press TV on Sunday.

"We are in close contact with the Syrian government and they have reassured us that they had never used such inhumane weapons and would have the fullest co-operation with the UN experts to visit the areas affected," Mohammad Javad Zarif told Italy's foreign minister, Emma Bonino, in a telephone conversation on Saturday, Press TV reported.

The Syrian opposition has accused government forces of killing well over 1,000 civilians with poison gas in Damascus suburbs on Wednesday – an accusation dismissed by the government.

World powers have urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to allow UN chemical weapons inspectors already in Damascus to examine the sites.

Iran is Syria's closest ally and is supporting Assad against opposition forces seeking to overthrow him. The Syrian government has accused rebels of launching the chemical attacks to provoke an international reaction, an account backed by Iran and Russia, another ally.

"The international community must show a serious reaction to the use of chemical weapons by the terrorists in Syria and condemn this move," Zarif said, according to the English-language Press TV report.