AFP, London, 18 Jan 2012 – British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday there was ‘growing evidence’ that Iran was supplying weapons to Syria to help in the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
Cameron blamed the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah for channeling arms into Syria where 5,400 people have been killed in violence since March, as he described President Bashar al-Assad as a ‘wretched tyrant’.
He promised that Britain would ‘lead the way’ in tightening sanctions and asset bans against Syria.
‘There is now growing evidence that Iran is providing a huge amount of support,’ Cameron told lawmakers.
‘There have been interceptions of some shipments by Turkey which are particularly interesting.
‘People should also know that Hezbollah is an organisation standing up and supporting this wretched tyrant who is killing so many of his own people.’
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Tuesday that a UN Security Council resolution on Syria was ‘long overdue’, but conceded that it was unlikely Russia would let the UN body take any serious action.
Prolonged talks on the issue at the Security Council on Tuesday failed to move closer to UN action on the bloodshed, diplomats said.