What media in Russia, Iran and Syria are saying on Syria strikes

State outlets in countries allied to Syrian president carry unanimous condemnation of US-led strikes on Syria.

Russia Today
RT carried condemnation of the attack by President Vladimir Putin [Gleb Garanich/Reuters]

State media outlets in Russia, Iran and Syria have been carrying heavy condemnation of US-led air strikes on Syrian government positions.

US, French and British forces launched the attacks in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack carried out by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week.

Below is a round-up of how they are reacting:

RT (Russia)

Russian state media’s English language service Russia Today (RT) is carrying comments by President Vladimir Putin condemning the strikes and warning they would lead to a “new wave of asylum seekers from Syria and the whole region”.

Sputnik (Russia)

Sputnik, another Russian state-owned media outlet is reporting a claim made by Russian military officials that Syria’s air defence system managed to shoot down a majority of cruise missiles fired by the US.

Russian defence officials say 71 of 103 missiles were shot down by Syrian S-125 and S-200 anti-missile systems.

 
 

 

Press TV (Iran)

Iran’s English language media outlet Press TV is leading with the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini’s denunciation of the US-led strikes as a “crime”.

It also repeats the claims made by Russian officials that a majority of the missiles launched by the US had been intercepted.

Press TV's lead story [Screenshot] 
Press TV’s lead story [Screenshot] 

 

Al Manar (Hezbollah)

Hezbollah‘s media outlet Al-Manar has published a statement by the group condemning the “aggression” against Syria.

The group said the “vicious attack on Syria is a blatant violation of the Syrian sovereignty and its people’s dignity.

“We assure that the war launched against the region’s people and resistance movements won’t reach its goals, and the Ummah (nation) will emerge more powerful and more determined to confront and to triumph.”

SANA (Syria)

Syria’s state news agency leads with a condemnation of the air strikes and also carries the claim that a majority of missiles fired by the Western states had been intercepted.

SANA also published a story claiming the Syrian army had discovered a laboratory used by rebels for “making toxic materials”.

It also reports condemnation of the strikes by allied groups and protests by supporters in Western states

Syrian Arab News Agency lead story [Screenshot]
Syrian Arab News Agency lead story [Screenshot]
Source: Al Jazeera