Iran’s Revolutionary Guard admits advisers in Syria, Lebanon

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The top commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard says the elite unit has high-level advisers in Lebanon and Syria but remains undecided on whether to send military reinforcements to help save Bashar Assad’s regime.

Sunday’s comments by Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari mark the clearest indication of Iran’s direct assistance to its main Arab allies, Assad and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

It also suggests Tehran is wary about being drawn into a Middle East conflict if outside forces attack Assad, who is locked in a civil war with rebel forces.

Jafari told reporters that Quds force members have been in Syria and Lebanon as advisers for a long time, but was not more specific.

He says decisions about whether to boost military aid to Syria if attacked would “depend on the circumstances.”