A high-ranking Iranian diplomat says destruction of Syria and rendering it weak in the face of the Israeli regime’s aggression have always formed part of the United States and the regime’s agenda, warning that the Arab country could fall apart amid the conflicting foreign interests that have come to affect it.
Kamal Kharrazi, head of the Islamic Republic’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, made the remarks in Tehran on Dec. 18, in a meeting with Mohamed al-Hassan, the United Nations special representative for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
“The macro plan consisting of decreasing the regional countries’ capability in the face of the Zionist regime’s violations, including destruction of Syria as a country that supports the resistance, has always been on the US and the regime’s agenda,” the former foreign minister said.
Kharrazi cited remarks made by former U.S. President Barack Obama during his tenure, in which he said, “Assad must go” as an example of Washington’s destructive ambitions toward Syria.
The veteran diplomat pointed to the Israeli regime’s having markedly intensified its deadly attacks against Syria, especially targeting its military infrastructure, in the aftermath of the country’s takeover by the anti-Damascus militants, who are widely reported to have been receiving extensive military support and cooperation on the part of Tel Aviv and the West since the outbreak of foreign-backed militancy in the country in 2011.
Kharrazi expressed concern regarding the developments, especially the Israeli regime’s efforts at availing itself of the power vacuum in the Arab country as well as Tel Aviv’s violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity through extensive bombing of its military and civilian infrastructure.
The official warned about Syria’s disintegration on the back of the opposing interests of the foreign parties that have thrown their support behind the militants.
He also said insecurity in the Arab country could, meanwhile, spread to neighboring Iraq, and urged the UN secretary general and the world body’s Security Council to take immediate action to stem such repercussions.
Concluding his remarks, Kharrazi laid emphasis on the Islamic Republic’s preparedness to help the UN implement its duties in this regard.
The UN official, for his part, provided Kharrazi with a report on UNAMI’s activities, and expressed hope that the mission would be able to implement its obligations successfully, despite the existing concerns. (PressTV.ir)
Senior Iranian diplomat warns of Syria’s disintegration, spread of insecurity to Iraq
British government decries ‘worst housing crisis in living memory’
The British government has announced “the largest ever cash boost” to tackle soaring destitution in England, which Minister for Homelessness Rushanara Ali has admitted is “the worst housing crisis in living memory.”
Councils across the country will receive almost £1 billion ($1.27 billion) in new funding next year, it was revealed on Dec. 17. The amount is equal to what councils spent on temporary accommodation for homeless families over the past year, recent figures show.
The funding aims to prevent “households becoming homeless in the first place,” according to a press release.
Earlier this month, housing charity Shelter reported that homelessness had risen by 14 percent in a year, with at least 354,000 people homeless in England, including 161,500 children.
The charity previously called on the government to “invest in genuinely affordable social homes” instead of “sinking billions into temporary solutions every year.”
The Labor government has said that “successive years of failure” to invest in prevention had resulted in a record number of households being homeless across England.
Ahead of the general election in July, which ended more than a decade of Conservative rule, The Guardian newspaper published an opinion piece identifying Tory policy decisions since 2010, such as repeated capping and freezing of local housing benefits, as a “direct cause” of soaring homelessness.
According to Shelter’s figures, the total cost of homelessness in England has doubled in the past five years, reaching £2.3 billion between April 2023 and March 2024. The figure includes £1 billion spent by councils on temporary accommodation for homeless families, and housing benefits.
Homelessness is a pressing issue in other parts of the UK. The government in Scotland declared a national housing emergency in May. In Wales, spending on temporary accommodation rose seven-fold between 2018 and 2022. In Northern Ireland, the number of placements in temporary accommodation has risen nearly four-fold since 2019.
A recent survey suggested that 57 percent of the British public do not believe the government will ever be able to eradicate “significant levels” of homelessness. (RT.com)
