TEHRAN - Iran on Sunday rallied behind Syria, its only regional ally, by praising Damascus for cooperating with a UN probe into the killing of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.

Iran said the UN report, which implicated top Syrian and Lebanese figures in Hariri's killing and raised the threat of international sanctions, should not be "politicised" and also urged the world not to rush to judgement.

"We should not be hasty in judging this issue until it is followed up with patience and accuracy," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said, adding that Iran also wanted to "find out the truth about terrorism".

"Some countries want to use this report for their own goals, even though the process of this investigation should be about discovering the truth and identifying real criminals," he said in a statement carried by Iranian news agencies.

He went on to praise "the goodwill that Syrian officials have shown in this process and their considerable help to the chief investigator" Detlev Mehlis, stressing that the "international community should consider the viewpoints of the Syrian people and government."

Although Asefi did not comment on the findings of the UN report, he said Iran "hopes a final report is composed and submitted based on technical and legal foundations" and that "the politicisation of this is prevented".

Iran is Syria's main friend in the Middle East, and is also a major backer of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite and pro-Syrian movement.

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