Iran's Revolutionary Guard admits to providing military assistance in Syria
Iran confirmed on Sunday what has long been suspected: It is providing assistance to the Syrian government in its war against an uprising. Iran's Qods Force is also operating in Lebanon.
Iran confirmed on Sunday what has long been suspected: It is providing assistance to the Syrian government in its war against an uprising. Iran's Qods Force is also operating in Lebanon.
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听The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard officially confirmed that his organization is assisting the Syrian government side of that country's civil war. The statement is the first public confirmation of Iran's involvement in the Syrian conflict.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari told a press conference in Tehran Sunday that members of the Qods Force, the Revolutionary Guards' international branch, are currently operating in Syria and Lebanon, Haaretz reports.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and most of his top regime officials are Alawites, a religion that began as an offshoot of Shiite Islam, Iran's predominant religion. But Alawites are a minority within Syria, where the majority of the country is Sunni, including many of the rebels.
Iran's involvement in Syria has long been rumored, and Jafari's confirmation gives credence to other reports detailing Iran's role in the civil war. Iraqi fugitive Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi claimed on Sunday that Iran is ferrying supplies to Syria through Iraqi airspace, reports Lebanon's The Daily Star.
An adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki denied Mr. Hashemi's accusation, and said that Iraq was not taking sides in the Syrian conflict. Hashemi, a vocal critic of Mr. Maliki and his government, was recently found guilty of murder in absentia and sentenced to death by an Iraqi court, and has been in de facto exile in Turkey.听 Hashemi claims that the charges against him were fabricated for political advantage.
Iran is just one of several Middle Eastern nations involved in the Syrian conflict; Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been aiding the rebel forces. Agence France-Presse reports that foreign ministers from all three nations, along with Egypt, are set to meet in Cairo today to attempt to resolve the conflict in Syria, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.
AFP adds that United Nations envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is scheduled to attend the meeting. Mr. Brahimi said on Saturday that the Syrian conflict was "getting worse" and that the crisis 鈥渉as serious consequences on the Syrian people, the region and the entire world.鈥� Bloomberg News reports that Brahimi spoke with several rebel leaders on Sunday, including Col. Abdel Jabbar al-Ageidi, the rebels' top military commander in Aleppo, who said that Brahimi "didn鈥檛 have any solutions to offer."