26 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Iranian Foreign Ministry has spoken out against a US airstrike in the vicinity of Syria's eastern Deir ez-Zour region, which was in response to a suspected Iranian drone attack on Thursday killed a US contractor and wounded six others, including five soldiers.
In a statement, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said the "terrorist" attacks on Friday by the US hit civilian targets and constituted a violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty. The attack reportedly killed 19 people, including 16 Iranian-backed militants and three Syrian soldiers, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
"The US claims that it is present in Syria to fight Daesh that itself had a major role in creating is just an excuse to continue its occupation and loot Syria's national wealth, including its energy resources and wheat," he said.
READ: Missile attack targets US base in Syria: reports
"Continuation of illegal military presence of the US in addition to occupation of swathes of the Syrian soil and attacking various targets in that country amount to violation of international laws as well as the country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity," the spokesman added.
According to Al-Mayadeen, citing a security source, a US base at the Al-Omar oil field was targeted with a missile attack on Friday morning. Yesterday, Iran's top security body, the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) denounced the US airstrikes against Iran-linked bases in Syria, which it says had been established "at the request of the Syrian government". The SNSC also warned that the attacks would be met with a "swift response."
In August of last year, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the losses incurred by the country's oil and gas sector due to the US on-going occupation and looting of the country's resources amounted to $107 billion since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011.
