Ambassador: Israel playing key role in Syrian crisis

Syrian Ambassador to Tehran Adnan Mahmoud blamed Israel for playing the main role in the current crisis in his country, and said the arrogant powers want to deviate the world public opinion from the Palestinian issue by fueling the conflicts in Syria. "The Zionist regime plays the main role in the Syrian crisis," Mahmoud told FNA on Saturday. He reminded that Israel is trying to implement the Greater Middle-East Plan as it serves its interests. "Their (the arrogant powers') goal is to deviate the public opinion from the Muslims' main problem which is Palestine," 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. In October 2011, calm was almost restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies sought hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots to topple President Bashar al-Assad, who is well known in the world for his anti-Israeli stances.