"What the Americans conducted under the pretext of a chemical attack was a pretext to make up for recent terrorists' defeats in the Syrian soil," Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, told reporters on Sunday.
The United States, Britain and France launched airstrikes against multiple places in Syria early Saturday following US President Donald Trump's order despite international warnings against further escalation of the situation in the Arab country and across the Middle East. Syria said it intercepted most of the missiles.
The US-led military coalition has accused the Syrian government of having allegedly attacked the militant-held town of Douma in the Eastern Ghouta region on April 7 and claimed that the Saturday air strikes had been aimed at deterring Syria's further use of chemical weapons.
This is while Syria turned over its entire chemical stockpile under a deal negotiated by Russia and the United States back in 2013.
Velayati further condemned the US measures in Syria, stressing that such moves would bear no fruit.
"The Syrian government and nation can defend their territorial integrity stronger than the past and this is the stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the top Iranian official said.
Velayati emphasized that claims about the use of chemical weapons in Syria are "lies" and noted that an Iranian delegation, during a recent visit to the Eastern Ghouta, was assured that no such arms have been used in this region.
"The US and its allies conducted the strikes [against Syria] before the announcement of the results of investigations into the use of chemical weapons because they knew that the results would reject their claims," he said.
He added that Syria is currently very strong and the US, Britain and France would never achieve their "aggressive" objectives.
Velayati on Wednesday visited Syrias Eastern Ghouta and secret underground tunnels used by Takfiri terrorists in the almost fully liberated region near the capital Damascus. He also met with military commanders there.
PressTV-Leaders aide visits Syrias Eastern Ghouta
A senior adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution has visited Syrias Eastern Ghouta.
He reaffirmed Irans support for Syria and the nations resistance against terrorists and underlined the necessity of further expansion of bilateral ties to counter the threats of the US, Israel and their regional stooges.
Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), arrived in Damascus on Saturday at the request of the Syrian government to determine whether chemicals were used in Douma, an excuse used by the US and its allies to bomb the Arab country before any investigation.
On April 10, Velayati said the Israeli regime's recent attack on an air base in the Syrian province of Homs would not go unanswered.
PressTV-Israeli attack on Syria won't go unanswered: Velayati
A senior aide to Ayatollah Khamenei says Israel's recent air strike against an air base in Syria will not 'go unanswered.'
"Definitely, this crime will not remain without a response," he said upon his arrival in the Syrian capital.
Two Israeli F-15 warplanes carried out strikes from Lebanese air space on T-4 air base in Homs on Sunday that killed and wounded several people. Syrian air defense systems shot down five out of eight missiles fired.
