Iran Condemns Blasts in Damascus

Iran, Syria's regional ally, on Saturday condemned deadly bomb blasts that rocked Damascus and blamed them on unnamed countries supplying arms to Syrian rebels, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"The responsibility of such actions lies with those whose agenda is to arm and provoke armed groups," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in a statement.

Mehmanparast did not specify any nation, but his comments came after an Arab diplomat, on condition of anonymity, told Agence France Presse that Saudi Arabia was delivering military equipment to Syrian rebels.

Iran "considers these terrorist actions as ways of taking vengeance on the Syrian people who support their regime and seek stability for their nation," Mehmanparast added.

Two huge bomb blasts killed at least 27 people in the heart of the Syrian capital on Saturday, according to Syrian state media.

A spate of blasts has hit Syria's big cities in recent months, with the regime blaming them on al-Qaida and foreign interference, and the opposition accusing the regime of stage-managing the attacks.

Commentators on Syrian state television said Qatar and Saudi Arabia were responsible.

The two Gulf Arab nations are fierce critics of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime's bloody crackdown on dissent since March 2011. Both have called for the Syrian rebels to be supplied with arms.

Tehran has in the past few days sent two planeloads of cargo it described as "medical aid" to Syria.

Iran's arch-foe the United States said on Friday it was concerned that Iranian cargo flights over Iraq to Syria might contain weapons that could be used by Damascus to crush protests.

Baghdad stated on Saturday that it will not permit arms shipments to Syria to pass through or over its territory.