Iranian officials vowed that Tehran will continue supporting Assad regime in his war and “restore security” to the region, as thousands of Iranian fighters headed to Aleppo to participate in the brutal offensive against the city.
Assad regime said on Thursday it was starting a new wide offensive to recapture the rebel-held parts of Aleppo after a week-long ceasefire was declared officially over on Monday. the offensive is backed by Russian air force and Iranian militias, and includes a ground assault, artillery bombardment, and intensive airstrikes.
Since September 19, more than 400 civilians have been killed in rebel-held areas of Aleppo province, including the besieged eastern part of the city, Civil defense workers said on Monday.
Iran sent more than 3000 militants to take part in the military operations and back the regime forces, according to fox news.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed that Tehran will continue supporting Syria in the fight against what he called “terrorism”.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue helping Syria in the fight against terrorism and for the establishment of security in the region,” Rouhani said in a meeting with Syrian Parliament Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas in Tehran on Tuesday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran regards maintaining territorial integrity and unity of all regional countries such as Syria as a basic principle,” he added, saying that Tehran believes redrawing borders will never be beneficial to the region.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is committed to its principles and, since terrorism is a big problem for the region and the world, believes that Syrian people must be provided with aid in order to [help them] drive out terrorism from their country,” Rouhani also said.
Common goals in Syria
Ali Akbar Velayati, Ali Khamenei’s aide on international affairs, said also that Iran will keep supporting Assad regime and it achieves “the final victory” in his meeting with the Syrian parliament speaker.
“We strongly support the [Syrian] government and [President] Bashar al-Assad himself,” Velayati said.
He emphasized that Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, “has put the issue of supporting Syria on the agenda of the Islamic Republic and that the Iranian administration has also provided the necessary support in this regard.”
Velayati also noted that Tehran and Damascus have common goals in Syria and have been experiencing “growing and strategic” relations since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Velayati accused some Arab countries and western states in plotting the “acts of violence” in the area that were called the Arabic Spring, but “their goals weren’t achieved” according to him.
“They paid a huge price for the war on Syria and inflicted heavy expenses on the country’s people just because the Syrian government and nation have stood up against the Zionists,” Velayati said.
Khamenei has previously said that the crisis in Syria is a war against disbelief and that Iran will continue sending troops to Syria to protect “the sacred shrines” and fight the non-belivers.
The Syrian parliament speaker arrived in Tehran on Monday at the invitation of her Iranian counterpart, Ali Larijani, to hold talks with senior Iranian officials. Earlier in the day, she attended a joint press conference with Larijani.
The Syrian crisis began as a peaceful demonstration against the injustice in Syria. Assad regime used to fire power and violence against the civilians and led to armed resistance. 450.000 Syrians lost their lives in the past five years according to UN estimates, and more than 12 million have lost their homes.
