MOSCOW – The Syrian strikes send a hidden message to Iran and North Korea,demonstrating readiness to hit a country over alleged possession of massdestruction weapons, even without evidence, Hassan Faraj, a member of theCenter for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies in Paris (CEDS) and of theSyrian constitutional commission, told Sputnik.
On Saturday morning, the United States, the United Kingdom and Francelaunched missile strikes on a number of targets in Syria in response to thealleged chemical incident in the Damascus’ suburb of Duma. According to theRussian Defense Ministry, over 100 cruise and air-to-surface missiles werelaunched, most of which were shot down by the Syrian air defense systems.
“The strike is considered a hidden message for Iran and North Korea, thatthe Western coalition forces are ready for direct ‘disciplinary’ militaryintervention if it considers that there is a direct threat of weaponsof mass destruction without real evidence, and only accordingto intelligence information and without returning to the Security Councilas long as there is a Russian and Chinese veto hindering any suchdecision,” Faraj said.
The tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated since USPresident Donald Trump came to power. Trump claimed that it was wrongto sign the nuclear deal with Iran and threatened to repeal the accordas it had a number of flaws such as restricted access to military sitesfor inspectors, disregard for Iran’s ballistic missile program and Tehran’salleged support for terrorists.
Tensions ran high also between the United States and North Korea, as thelatter repeatedly violated UN Security Council resolutions by conductingnuclear and ballistic missile tests.
Trump said that he was not ruling out the military option as a solutionto the North Korean problem. As of now there is an agreement between Trumpand North Korean leader to hold a meeting in late May or early Juneamid thaw in the relations between Seoul and Pyongyang.