Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 30 / Trend S.Isayev T.Jaffarov/
Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani spoke of the latest situation in Syria at today's press-conference in Tehran, IRINN TV channel reported.
"As far as the crisis in Syria is ongoing our advice to Turkey is to choose the right position, and not to become a tool in the hands of other countries," the speaker said.
With regard to the United States, Larijani noted that "the U.S. is not interested in democratization of Syria, on the contrary, they want to destabilize the situation in the region".
"Realizing new reforms in Syria is a positive factor, and Syria needs an opportunity for these reforms. Also, a very worrying milestone is that double standards are being applied to Syria," Larijani underscored.
Turkey, once a close ally of the Syrian president, has gradually toughened its criticism of the Syrian regime for its brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests. Turkish leaders have on many occasions called on Assad to end the crackdown and step down.
Turkey's move follows in the wake of sanctions announced by the Arab League. In an unprecedented move against a fellow Arab state, the 22-member Arab League approved sanctions Sunday to pressure the regime to end its suppression of an eight-month-old revolt.
A total of 912 persons who were involved in the latest events in Syria without perpetrating acts of killing were released on Wednesday. Some 1,180 arrested people were released on November 15 and other 553 were released on November 5.
The sanctions by Syria's Arab neighbors include cutting off transactions with the Syria's central bank, and are expected to squeeze an ailing economy that already is under sanction by the US and the European Union.
Syria is facing mounting international pressure to end its violent suppression of protests against Assad, which the UN says has killed more than 3,500 people since March. The EU and the United States have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Assad and his regime, including a ban on the import of Syrian oil.