Iran Renews Strong Opposition to Military Options against Syria

Iran's Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the incident, and sympathized with the bereaved families of the victims. It also invited the two sides' officials to show self-restraint and find out the root causes of such events.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said such clashes merely serve the interests of ill-wishers and enemies of peace, stability and tranquility of the region.

Such events lead to disruption of friendship and brotherhood between nations and neighbors at the regional and international levels, he said.

Iran will continue its humanitarian efforts to help resolve Syria crisis and believes that the issue will be resolved through dialogue and political means as well as through self-restraint, he said.

Turkish artillery hit targets near Syria's Tel Abyad border town for a second day on Thursday, killing several Syrian soldiers according to activists and security sources.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several Syrians were killed in the Turkish bombardment of a military post near the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, a few miles across the frontier from Akcakale.

On Wednesday, a mortar hit the border town of Akcakale in Southern Turkey.

It was not clear who fired the mortar into Turkey, but security sources said it had come from near Tel Abyad and that Turkey was increasing the number of troops along its border.

Syria said it was investigating the source of the mortar bomb and urged restraint. Information Minister Omran Zoabi conveyed his condolences to the Turkish people, saying his country respected the sovereignty of neighboring countries.

Since the beginning of unrests in Syria in March 2011, Turkey has tried hard to intensify the crisis in Syria by training terrorists and sending weapons to the Arab country. Such behavior resulted in further problems for the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in its relations with its neighbors.
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