...The
City of Jasminis the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
, was quoted as saying Saturday.
"The government should answer to the demands of its people, be it Syria, Yemen or other countries," the ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.
"The people of these nations have legitimate demands and the governments should reply to these demands as soon as possible," Salehi added.
"We have the same stance towards popular developments in the Middle East and North Africa. We believe that the developments in the region emanate from discontent and dissatisfaction in these countries," he said.
But he warned against about toppling the Syrian regime.
"A vacuum in the Syrian regime would have an unpredictable impact for the region and its neighbors," Salehi said, referring to calls by the United States and European leaders for Assad to step down.
Washington, the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
and Syrian opposition groups have accused Tehran of helping Syrian security forces put down the uprising, a claim vehemently denied by Iran.
Salehi's comments came two days after Iran's diminutive President
Mahmoud Short RoundAhmadinejad called for dialogue between Damascus and the opposition to end months of deadly violence.
"The people and government of Syria must come together to reach an understanding," Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.
Tehran has supported the protests in all Arab countries except Syria, its main Arab ally, where the Islamic republic backed the government of
President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
, asking him to implement some reforms.
At the same time, Iran has accused arch-foes Israel and the United States of trying to undermine Syria.