Iran Has Stood by Syria Since Start of Anti-Terror Fight: FM Muallem
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said Iran has supported Syria in its fight against terrorism since the start of the foreign-backed war on the Arab country.
Iran has been providing military advisory support for Syria in its campaign against terrorism since the start of the war, al-Muallem told a press conference on Saturday, SANA reported.
“We thank the Iranian people and leadership for their help,” he added.
“Since the beginning of the crisis, Iran has supported Syria in the war against terrorism backed and financed regionally and internationally… no Iranian military presence on the Syrian territories…there are advisers who work alongside the Syrian Arab Army,” al-Muallem said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said US forces must withdraw from the Tanf base in the south, and that Damascus had not engaged in talks over the country's southern region.
He added that the government had communicated with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) but no negotiation process had started.
He said Raqqa city, which SDF militias control, "must be rebuilt and liberated" from any foreign presence.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri militant groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.
