Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast reiterated on Tuesday his country’s stance on deploying patriot missiles along the Turkish-Syrian borders.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast reiterated on Tuesday his country’s stance on deploying patriot missiles along the Turkish-Syrian borders.

At a press conference in Tehran, Mehmanparast said that all countries have to seek security and peace in the region, calling on the Turkish officials to cooperate with the neighboring countries to maintain stability in the region.

“We believe that all regional countries must try to establish stability and security in the region,” he stated, adding that “any provocative measure is against the interests of regional countries, particularly as Western countries and NATO do not have a good record with regards to interference in our region and we believe that insecurity and instability [in the region] stem from their actions.”

He stressed that only peaceful solutions can be applied to the crisis in Syria through dialogue among the Syrians themselves, pointing out that the West and the US want to decide the destiny and future of Syria on behalf of the Syrian people.

Mehmanparast called on the western countries “which assume democracy and protecting human rights” to leave the Syrian people “decide their future far from any interference.”

He warned of the continuation of supporting terrorists in Syria by the western countries and some regional and Arab countries through smuggling weapons and money.

Mehmanparast called on all sides which have influence on the armed groups to put pressure on them to realize security and peace in Syria and pave the ground for national dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Despite strong opposition from Russia, Syria and Iran, the NATO approved on December 4 Turkey’s request for the deployment of Patriot surface-to-air missiles along its border with Syria.