US version of human rights boosts terrorists: Iran defense chief

Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan (Photo by AFP)

Iran’s defense minister says the American version of human rights works in the interest of Takfiri terror groups, adding that Washington and its allies rush to save the terrorists whenever they suffer losses on the battlefield.

“The US version of human rights has been mobilized to save Daesh and al-Nusra Front terrorists,” Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said on Wednesday.

He further said wherever an anti-terror operation is about to succeed, Washington and its allies scramble to put forward “deceptive ceasefire plans or other so-called peace initiatives in order to save the terrorists and prevent their elimination.”

Washington and its partners, however, remain silent on the crimes committed by the terror groups, and even go as far as to provide them with intelligence and political support, paving the way for more terror activities.

On the one hand, they claim to be advocating human rights, and on the other, give the green light to the terror groups associated with them like al-Nusra -- which has rebranded itself as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham -- to prevent civilians from leaving the conflict zones, Dehqan warned.

This would enable the terrorists to use the civilians as human shields and obstruct the Syrian military’s anti-terror drive, he said.

The Iranian minister further said terrorism and extremism are being fueled with the aim of protecting the Israeli regime and prolonging insecurity in the Middle East, a situation which helps imperial powers maintain their presence there.

This is while it has been a main concern for the resistance front to save civilians and ensure their safe transfer outside conflict zones, Dehqan added.

Terrorists from the former al-Nusra Front -- renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham -- sit in a trench after they seized key positions south of the northwestern Syria city of Aleppo in a major anti-government offensive on August 6, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

He called for an end to foreign support for the terror groups operating in the region, saying efforts must be made to set the stage for national dialog in violence-torn countries.

In recent weeks, the Syrian city of Aleppo and Mosul in neighboring Iraq have turned into the two main frontlines against terrorists in the Middle East.

Syrian and Iraqi armed units have been engaged in heavy fighting with the Takfiri terrorists to liberate the two cities.

Reports coming out of Aleppo and Mosul indicate that the terrorists are using civilians as human shields to prevent their exit from the embattled areas amid army operations.

Since 2014, the US and a number of its allies have been conducting air raids against what they call terrorist positions in both countries, but the campaign has so far failed to dislodge the terrorists, causing, instead, numerous civilian casualties and damaging the infrastructure in the two Arab states.