英语文摘:Syrian crisis should not be solved militarily: Iran speaker

BEIRUT, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said on Monday that regime change in Syria cannot be achieved under military pressure.

He also said that the United States, after four years of the Syrian crisis, "were convinced that solving the Syria crisis comes through a political solution."

While making a speech at the Lebanese University, Larijani said "democracy is built slowly and not through violent revolutions. Political and social reforms cannot be achieved under tank fire."

He added that "each time the U.S. comes and occupies an area, a terrorist movement emerges, just as what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq, and this is the result of the militarization of the crisis."

Larijani also said some political groups in the region "are more effective" than countries, citing Hezbollah as one of them.

"Hezbollah is an effective organization in the Middle East and the resistance is considered a powerful symbol, just as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are both considered as strong resistance symbol," he said.

The Iranian official lamented the emergence of "terrorist, destructive organizations like the Islamic State (IS), stressing that "we must not overlook these movements."

Earlier, Larijani hailed the efforts by his Lebanese counterpart Speaker Nabih Berri in facilitating the anticipated dialogue between Lebanon's rival factions."

During a joint press conference with the speaker, Larijani said that "dialogue would make way for joining rival views and would resolve many political issues."

He noted that Iran had consistently called for political settlements that would curb the rise of widespread extremist movements, particularly in Syria.

For his part, Berri noted that only internal political settlement could resolve the crisis, highlighting the unlikelihood of such a resolve as long as militants are being smuggled into the country.

Larijani arrived to Beirut on Monday for a two-day visit. He is expected to visit Iraq on his way back to Iran.