Iran warns West over Syria
May 18, 2013 Iranian Students' News Agency http://isna.ir/en/news/92022818949/Iran-warns-West-over-Syria TEHRAN (ISNA)- With international pressure increasing on efforts to end the two-year-long conflict, Iran ­ which maintains strong connections with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government ­ has come out strongly, warning the West against arming the rebels. The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili reiterated his government's standpoint to euronews. "The price is not only being paid by Syrian people. Rather it is also being paid by the people of Europe," he said. "Insisting on this wrongful behavior they have given opportunities to terrorists to come thousands of kilometers from Afghanistan to the borders of Europe. I think that this is something that the people in Europe need to be worried about this," he added. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.