Iran's FM Salehi: 'Tehran’s Doors are Open to All Interested in Ending the Syrian Conflict'

"My heart aches when I see what is happening to Syria today. It terrifies me that this country, once a beacon of civilization, is being transformed into a slaughterhouse. That area which is steeped in history has become the site of methodical destruction where nothing is spared. In the longest inhabited capital on earth, the smell of blood overwhelms the nectar of jasmine.

Is this a fate befitting of Syria, which was once a place of reconciliation and peaceful coexistence? My question here is directed at my co-religionists who have raised the banner of opposition, reform, and change. Is this really what you want to see in this country – bloodletting at the hands of professional mercenaries sent here to sully the name of Islam and Syria?Are we both truly the followers of that great Prophet Mohammad? If he were amongst us today, would the Prophet have approved of the ongoing sectarian slaughter and the killing of Muslims simply because they have a different point of view? Would he have approved of the destruction of holy sites and the digging up of sacred tombs as was the case recently with that of Hujr Bin Uday, one of the Prophet’s companions?I see no solution for the Syrian people’s demand for self-determination and for choosing their regime and president other than to carry out free and transparent elections.Do you really believe a new order can emerge out of this relentless destruction, or through the barrel of a gun, or by way of a car bomb? Is it not enough that our Zionist enemy has come out into the open with its recent aggression against Syria, only to confirm that the war on Syria seeks to undermine its dignity and sovereignty?Is this the price Syria must pay for being part of the resistance in the region, for standing up for the Palestinians in their struggle to retrieve their land? Shall we stand by and watch this state, which changed the regional equation, become prey to the forces of Zionism and imperialism? (continue, here)"