Diplomat says US concerned about Iran and Russia providing weaponry to Syria The USA Times

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Diplomat says US concerned about Iran and Russia providing weaponry to Syria

WASHINGTON - A State Department official says Iran and Russia are providing weapons to Syria that could be used against anti-government protesters.

Thomas A. Countryman, the department's assistant secretary for international security and nonproliferation, told reporters Wednesday that Iranian weapon shipments are a matter of deep concern for the Obama administration.

Countryman would not provide specifics about the kinds of weapons transferred to Syria by either Iran or Russia.

He also said the U.S. is concerned about the status of chemical weapons and portable anti-aircraft weapons in Syria, in light of the civil conflict there. He said the U.S. is open to working with a successor Syrian government to account for and destroy those weapons.