Iran says that it plans to keep military advisers in Syria after the city of Aleppo was overrun by rebels in a surprise offensive.
The Islamic Republic, which has backed President Bashar al-Assad since Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011, says it only deploys military advisers in the country at the invitation of Damascus.
“We entered Syria many years ago at the official invitation of the Syrian government, when the Syrian people faced the threat of terrorism,” says foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaeil.
“Our military advisers were present in Syria, and they are still present” and would remain in the country “in accordance with the wishes” of its government, he tells a news conference in Tehran.
Baqaeil did not specify whether Iran would be increasing its forces in Syria in the wake of the lightning rebel offensive.
His remarks come a day after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Assad in Damascus to show support for the Syrian president.
Aleppo fell to an Islamist-dominated rebel alliance over the course of the past week.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 2, 2024
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
