Reuters/Dubai

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed countries outside the Middle East yesterday for the region’s turmoil and said regional states backing radical Islamists would be damaged by conflict.
Khamenei made the comments in a meeting with Oman’s Sultan Qaboos.
“The main reason behind the status quo in the region is interference from outside the region,” the state news agency Fars quoted Khamenei as saying.
Khamenei and other top officials in the Islamic Republic frequently call on the US and European powers to stop what they call interference in the Middle East, accusing them of a plot to take over the region.
His other comments appeared to be directed at states in the Middle East which are supporting rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Iran.
“Unfortunately, a Takfiri group has been formed with the support of certain regional states which is in conflict with all Muslim groups, but supporters of this stream should know that this fire will burn them too,” Khamenei said.
Iranian officials, along with the Syrian government, have blamed Syrian rebels for last week’s apparent chemical weapons attack outside Damascus which killed hundreds of people.
Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif spoke to his Syrian counterpart yesterday, Iranian news agencies said, and condemned the use of chemical weapons by what he called terrorists. His spokesman also warned against Western military strikes on Syria.
“At a time when the Syrian crisis is at a critical stage due to the use of chemical weapons by terrorists and the region needs peace and patience, talking about readiness to militarily attack Syria without the approval of the Security Council is a dangerous ... thing to do,” the state Press TV quoted foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi as saying.
“Any miscalculation of the situation in Syria would throw the entire region into a dangerous and complicated stage which will ... engulf all regional countries,” he said. Khamenei meets with Sultan Qaboos  in Tehran yesterday.