Lawmaker calls US withdrawal from attacking Syria big defeat for Saudi

A senior Iranian legislator lashed out at Saudi Arabia for supporting and financing terrorists in Syria, and said the US decision to halt its military strike on Syria is seen as a severe blow to the Saudi rulers. “Saudi Arabia will sustain a heavy defeat from the withdrawal of the Americans from their war plan on Syria,” member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Karimi Qodousi told FNA on Wednesday. He further pointed to Saudi Arabia's staunch efforts to topple the Syrian government, and said terrorists in Syria are led by Ryiadh. "Saudi Arabia is the one who is directing and leading the Takfiris and Wahhabis in Syria," he reiterated. The MP reminded the strategic alliance between Saudi Arabia and the US, and said they are partners in many regional projects. He stressed that Washington and Riyadh have struck a deal, on the basis of which the Americans would pave the ground for the ouster of the Qatari crown prince in return for the Saudis' taking charge of Syria’s dossier. Karimi Qodousi’s remarks came after new information indicated that Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan has been playing a key role in convincing the US administration to develop and execute a plan for attacking Syria. Wall Street Journal correspondent Adam Entous said in an interview with Democracy Now TV on Friday that Prince Sultan is already leading a covert campaign with the CIA to support the Takfiri militants operating in Syria. He added that the Saudi prince is making frequent visits to Paris and Moscow as part of his efforts to undermine the Syrian government, the Islam Times reported. Entous also said that Sultan has been very aggressively involved in arming and funding the militants in Syria since 2011. US President Barack Obama said Monday he will stop a US plan to strike Syria if the country agrees with the Russian proposal to surrender its possible chemical stocks to international control. Obama said the Russian proposal could lead to a "breakthrough," but added that the US will maintain pressure on Syria by continuing his push for Congress to authorize military action. As the US Congress debates authorizing an attack on Syria, Russia on Monday proposed Syria put its chemical weapons under international control. The idea is a "potentially positive development", Obama said, adding that Washington will work with Moscow and the international community "to see if we can arrive at something that is enforceable and serious", the Islam Times reported. The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accepted the Russian proposal. Obama on Monday gave a series of television interviews in an attempt to gain support from lawmakers and public for a limited military strike on Syria. Recent polls show that the majority of Americans oppose any US military action against Syria. The US, Israel and France have adopted the rhetoric of war against Syria over allegations that the Syrian government was behind a recent chemical attack near Damascus. The call for military strike intensified after the militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed on August 21 that hundreds had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar. The Syrian government has strongly denied the claim, accusing the militants of the attack.