Iran to Continue Advisory Support for Syria, Iraq: Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Republic of Iran will keep up its advisory assistance to the Syrian and Iraqi governments until elimination of terror threats gripping the Arab countries, a special aide to the country’s parliament speaker said.
"Iran made it clear from the onset of clashes in Syria and Iraq that the only way to settle the ongoing crises in the two countries is thorough political dialogue and not military and security methods," Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in a meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende in Tehran on Wednesday.
He added that Iran will continue its advisory presence in Syria and Iraq to help Damascus and Baghdad in their anti-terror fight.
Amir Abdollahian further condemned Washington and Riyadh’s policies toward Syria, stressing, "If it had not been for their support of terrorist groups, the conflict in the Arab country would have been so far resolved through political means."
Separately on Wednesday, the senior Iranian official held talks with visiting Deputy Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee at the Syrian People’s Assembly Hussein Ragheb al-Hussein in Tehran and discussed the latest developments in the Arab country.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran supports any move to resolve the Syrian crisis in a political process," Amir Abdollahian stressed.
Ragheb al-Hussein, for his part, thanked Iran for its support for Syria in the fight against terrorist groups, saying, “The Syrian government and nation will never forget Iran’s all-out assistance (to the Arab country)”.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.