Iran to Maintain Advisory Presence in Syria: FM Adviser
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Republic of Iran will keep up its advisory assistance to the Syrian government until elimination of terror threats gripping the Arab country, a senior adviser to Iran’s foreign minister said.
Speaking to Tasnim, Hossein Sheikholeslam said Iran will continue its advisory presence in Syria until acts of “sedition” by Takfiri terrorists in the Arab country are eliminated.
He also referred to Western countries’ plots to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad from power, saying the West does not have the power to do that.
Sheikholeslam praised Assad for standing by the Syrian nation in their anti-terror fight.
An imminent liberation of the northern city of Aleppo from the clutches of the terrorists will “dash hopes of the armed groups” and finally destroy them, he added, hailing the Syrian army’s steadfastness and resistance in the Aleppo battle against the foreign-backed terrorists.
Aleppo has been divided between government forces in the west and militants in the east since 2012, a year after the conflict broke out in Syria.
During the past days, a number of the militants have laid down their weapons in Aleppo and surrendered themselves to government troops, who are making more gains in the embattled city.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Sheikholeslam pointed to the presence of American troops in north of Syria and the US support for some of the armed groups, saying the US is “undoubtedly pursuing the policy of dividing the region on the basis of nationality.”
He added that intelligence data collected by American and Israeli drones are provided to the terrorists wreaking havoc on Syria.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011.
UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has also displaced over half of the Arab country’s pre-war population of about 23 million.
