“The international community must show a serious reaction to the use of chemical weapons by the terrorists in Syria and condemn this move,” Zarif said in a telephone conversation with his Italian counterpart Emma Bonino on Saturday.

Zarif described any use of chemical weapons as running counter to human principles and international laws and strongly condemned it.

The Iranian foreign minister said, “We are in close contact with the Syrian government and they have reassured us that they had never used such inhumane weapons and would have the fullest cooperation with the UN experts to visit the areas affected [by chemical weapons.]”

On Saturday, a Syrian TV said that army soldiers had found chemical agents in tunnels dug by the foreign-backed militants in a northeastern suburb of the capital, Damascus.

The Syrian government also stated that the militants had carried out the recent chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar.

On August 21, Syria's opposition had claimed that hundreds had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the aforementioned Damascus suburbs. However, the Syrian government categorically rejected the baseless claims, saying the new accusations aimed to distract a visiting team of the UN chemical weapons experts and to cover up militants’ losses.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the West and its regional allies - especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - are supporting the militants inside Syria.

During her telephone conversation with Zarif, the Italian foreign minister, for her part, denounced the use of chemical weapons in Syria and called for a UN investigation into the attack.

NTJ/SHI