Iranian Foreign Ministry official Hossein Jaberi-Ansari. Photo: Mehr News Agency.

A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official on Thursday ridiculed US objections to the Tehran regime’s ongoing presence in Syria, where Iranian military forces have joined with Russia in stabilizing President Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship.

Hossein Jaberi-Ansari, a senior adviser to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, told reporters in Moscow that the US stance on Iran’s presence in Syria was “ineffective and doomed to failure.”

The US has frequently expressed concern that Iran’s incursions into Syria have empowered its proxies like Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi’a terrorist organization, through the transfer of weapons and military vehicles. In recent months, Israel has carried out several air strikes on Iranian-linked targets in Syria, sparking fears of a regional conflict that could draw in Russia.

Speaking after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Jaberi-Ansari said that Russia and Turkey were grateful for Iran’s involvement, claiming as well that Iran diplomats had spearheaded the agreement reached between Ankara and Moscow last September over Syria’s Idlib province.

“No country is able to exclude other countries and Iran’s role in Syria, the [Astana] peace process and peace in Syria is based on reality, which has gained the attention of Turkey and other players,” Jaberi-Ansari was quoted as saying.

Asked by an interviewer from Iran’s official mouthpiece Press TV why the Tehran regime did not highlight its diplomatic profile more, Jaberi-Ansari responded, “Iran does not insist on being present in photo ops and signing ceremonies.”

“Rather than seeking to show off itself, Iran has been and is after finding solutions,” Jaberi Ansari claimed.