Top Commander Reiterates Iranian Militaries’ Continued Mission in Syria

“One of the demands of the Syrian government from the Islamic Republic of Iran is to send military forces as advisors to render strategies and needed assistance to the army of that country; the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps sent these forces in the past years and the Iranian Ground Force was notified last week to dispatch some its forces as advisors to Syria as well,” General Pourdastan said on Sunday.

“Our presence in Syria is not in the form of army units and we have not sent (combat) units to Syria because we do not see Daesh (the ISIL) as a major enemy; the ISIL is, rather, a small enemy doing some mischief in there,” he added.

General Pourdastan said the ongoing ceasefire in Syria is not actually a comprehensive working truce “because Daesh and al-Nusra Front terrorist groups are not included in the ceasefire and they still continue their mischiefs and movements in Southern and Northern Syria; therefore, the advisory mission of the Iranian forces in Syria will forcefully continue in all fields”.

The top commander further underlined Russia’s continued military presence in Syria, saying that despite partial troops’ pullout from Syria that has taken place for some logistical reasons, Moscow will certainly continue its military role in the war-ravaged country.

The Russian army has only pulled out some of its troops from Syria, but its warplanes are still in the Arab country, General Pourdastan said, stressing that the Russian air force will continue backing the Syrian army in its missions against the Takfiri terrorists.

In a relevant development last Saturday, Deputy Chief of Staff of Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri underlined that Iran is playing a military advisory role in Syria, elaborating on some recent reports about sending commandos to the war-hit Muslim state to fight against terrorism.

Different sections of the (Iranian) Armed Forces are present in the region as advisors and it is nothing new,” Jazzayeri told reporters in Tehran on Saturday in response to a question on the dispatch of commandos to Syria.

His remarks came after an Iranian commander said earlier this month that the Army has dispatched a number of its commandos to Syria to help the war-hit country with advisory assistance against terrorism.

“Brigade 65 of Nohed (Special Airborne Forces) is a part of the Ground Force and we send its soldiers as well as other units as advisors to Syria,” Deputy Chief Liaison of the Army Ground Force General Ali Arasteh said earlier this month.

He, meantime, explained that the dispatch of advisers from Iran is not merely confined to the Commandos of Brigade 65, adding that the brigade’s advisors have already been deployed in Syria.

General Arasteh had also said last month that Iran planned to deploy commandos and snipers in Iraq and Syria as military advisers.

“At some point we might decide to use our commandos and snipers as military advisers in Iraq and Syria,” he said.

General Arasteh said that the first group of commandos and snipers are being trained for the purpose and the country might decide to send them to Iraq and Syria in the near future.

Iran is providing Iraq and Syria with military advisory and humanitarian aid in their fight against terrorist groups.

Also in March, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Quds Force Major General Qassem Soleimani said Takfiri terrorism threatens all Muslims, and Iran has waged war on those terrorists that trade enslaved women and children.

“The fire of Takfiri and Takfirism has engulfed in homes of our Sunni brothers. Those behind this are under the illusion that they can bring Shiism and the Islamic Republic to their knees. More than anywhere else, Takfiri groups have targeted the sanctity of humanity and the Sunni world,” General Soleimani said, addressing a ceremony in Tehran.

General Soleimani then asked those behind the smear campaign to question Iran’s policy in its ongoing war on terror, “Is it adventurism if the Islamic Republic makes sacrifices to defend Muslims? Is it wrong for the Islamic Republic to battle a group that in just one region is buying and selling some 20,000 unfortunate enslaved young women? Is it wrong for the Islamic Republic to stand against the anti-Muslim current and stop the demolition of Mosques and Muslim holy sites?”

His remarks came after Iraqi Minister of Human Rights Mohammed Mahdi Ameen al-Bayati said the Takfiri ISIL terrorist group has sold more than 5,000 women and girls from Iraq’s Izadi Kurdish minority in their slave market.