Iran has announced that its military advisors' presence in Syria, aimed at combating the terrorist group "Islamic State" (IS, banned in Russia), has successfully achieved its objectives. This statement was made by Alireza Salimi, a member of the Iranian parliament's presidium.
"Those who doubted the value of our presence in Syria should recognize that it ensured our nation's security. The Islamic State seeks dominance in the region and the establishment of a caliphate. Iran's presence in Syria pushed IS far from our borders," Salimi said in an interview with YJC, an Iranian news agency.
From 2013 to 2024, Iran deployed a corps of military advisors in Syria, primarily comprising members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Their deployment was officially requested by the Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad. Alongside Iranian advisors, pro-Iranian Shia groups within the "Axis of Resistance" supported Syrian government forces against IS. These included Lebanon's Hezbollah, Afghanistan's Fatemiyoun Brigade, Pakistan's Zainabiyoun Brigade, and Iraq's Islamic Resistance.
In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin, responding to Assad's request, launched an air campaign in Syria to combat IS. Russian Aerospace Forces significantly weakened the group, driving terrorists away from major cities and eliminating their key leaders. However, IS retained small pockets of presence in desert areas near the Iraqi border.
Following the fall of Assad's government to opposition forces, Iran decided to withdraw its military personnel from Syria. Pro-Iranian groups relocated to Iraq and Lebanon. Russian President Putin confirmed that the Russian Aerospace Forces airlifted 4,000 Iranian fighters from the Khmeimim airbase to Tehran.
During an attack by opposition forces that seized power in Syria, IRGC Major General Kiyoumars Pourhashemi, commander of the Iranian advisory corps in Syria, was killed alongside 15 other Iranian military personnel.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on TASS materials