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Official: Iran's regional influence ‘inevitable’

February 1, 2018 at 8:52 am

Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei greets the crowd during the ceremony marking the 28th death anniversary of Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in Tehran, Iran on 4 June, 2017 [Supreme Leader Press Office/Anadolu Agency]

The top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today the country’s leadership had no intention of reining in its influence across the Middle East despite US pressure to do so, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

US President Donald Trump, who sees Iran as a rising threat to regional stability in the Middle East, has pledged to work with Gulf Arab states and Israel to curb what they say are Tehran’s attempts to extend its influence in the region.

Iran’s influence in the region is inevitable and to remain a key player in the region, this influence will continue

the adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, was quoted by Fars as saying.

Iran backs Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in his country’s civil war, Shia militias in Iraq, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“Iran has no intention to abandon the oppressed nations in the region … Our presence in Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon is in coordination with the governments of these countries,” Velayati said.

Read: Israeli Minister: ‘We will prevent Iranian activity in Lebanon as we did in Syria’