The Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moualem, left, and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, in Tehran. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty ImagesIran and Syria are blasted the United States for providing funds, food and medical supplies to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Secretary of State John Kerry had announced in the week that, for the first time, the United States would provide non-lethal aid directly to anti-Assad forces. The linkage between non-lethal aid and sophisticated weapons transfer in such scenario is very thin, hence the condemnation by Iran and Syria.
At a joint press conference in Tehran, the Syrian and Iranian foreign ministers called the policy a "double-standard."
"If you really feel sorry about the ongoing situation in Syria you should force the opposition to sit at the [negotiating] table with the Syrian government and put an end to bloodshed," said the Iranian official, Ali Akbar Salehi. "Why do you encourage the opposition to continue these acts of violence?"
"I do not understand how the United States can give support to groups that kill the Syrian people," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said. "This is nothing but a double-standard policy ... One who seeks a political solution does not punish the Syrian people."
The first US aid is designed to boost the rebels and pave the way for a peaceful political transition. It includes $60 million for opposition groups.
Bashar al Assad has been defiant since the uprising began and he is enjoying the support of Russia mostly and in a way China. Russia continues to call for diplomacy and negotiation to end the crisis. The war has also got to the Iraqi border in a province called Yaarabiya. The Syrian civil war has killed 70,000 since it began in 2011.
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