Tunisia welcomes Iran's will to mediate among warring rivals in Syria

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouqi hailed Tehran's stance on the Syrian crisis, and called on the international bodies to seize the opportunity to join Iran in its efforts to end the ongoing bloodshed in the Muslim country. “We have to stop this (bloodshe). This is the main problem, find and reach a political solution. I hope Iran now with President Hassan Rouhani would help (end the crisis in Syria),” Marzouqi said on the sidelines of the 68th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, Reuters reported. “The nightmare of the Syrian people must stop,” Marzouqi added. Earlier this month, President Rouhani once again warned of the negative impacts of any form of military intervention in Syria, and underscored that the only way to avoid the spread of bloodshed in the Muslim country is encouraging all the sides involved in the crisis to partake in national dialogue. The Iranian president warned of the dire consequences of a foreign military intervention in the region, particularly in Syria, saying those who are after a war will be the first to suffer. Speaking in a televised speech at the time, Rouhani welcomed a Russian plan for Syria's possible chemical stocks to be put under international control, saying the plan has lowered the risk of a US attack on Damascus. The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has welcomed the Russian proposal. In recent days, 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.