Amir-Abdollahian: Iran's Advisory Assistance to Syria and Iraq Will Continue

One day after the Saudi Foreign Minister criticized what he called Iran's "interference" in Iraq, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council announced that Tehran "will continue its advisory assistance in the region with determination" and that "military actions in Syria will continue." Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran referred to Adel al-Jubeir as a "primitive and nomadic" individual and stated that he should come to Iran to receive "political and diplomatic training." According to the state news agency IRNA, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, on Tuesday, June 10, implicitly referring to the Saudi Foreign Minister's remarks, stated that Iran "proudly and decisively continues its advisory assistance in the serious fight against terrorism in the region and considers it vital for the security and stability of all countries in the region and the world." He added: "Unfortunately, state and non-state supporters of terrorists and those who use terrorism as a tool have severely harmed themselves in addition to threatening the security of the region and the world." Iranian officials have declared that the purpose of Iran's military presence in Syria and Iraq is to provide "advisory assistance" to the armies of these countries. Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Foreign Minister, on Sunday criticized what he called Iran's "interference" in Iraq, stating that the presence of Iranian military personnel in that country is "unacceptable." A day earlier, a group of Sunni politicians in Iraq condemned the "presence" of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in Fallujah. The verbal clashes between Iranian and Saudi officials have been unprecedented in recent years following the deterioration of relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, wrote in a note on his personal Instagram page that the Saudi Foreign Minister is "similar to those primitive and nomadic individuals who have just come to the city and have laid their camel in the middle of Riyadh's square." Mr. Rezaei added: "Mr. Jubeir, come to Iran for a few weeks so we can teach you political and diplomatic skills." Iran's policies in the region, including in Syria and Yemen, have been in contrast to the policies of some regional countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, in recent years. While Tehran supports Bashar al-Assad, Saudi Arabia supports opposition groups against the Syrian government. Meanwhile, Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, stated that "military actions in the Syrian theater continue, the situation around Damascus has improved compared to before, and the situation around Aleppo is getting better day by day." According to ISNA news agency, he added: "The outlook for this success is so clear that the head of one of the terrorist groups affiliated with one of the regional countries has resigned from his position." Mr. Shamkhani's reference could be to Mohammad Alloush, head of the High Negotiations Committee formed by opponents of the Assad government, who resigned from his position criticizing the unsuccessful Geneva talks and what he called "the world's indifference to the suffering of the Syrian people." Forces of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, attacked government forces stationed in the strategic village of Khan Touman near the Damascus-Aleppo highway on Thursday, May 16, and captured this village. Following this attack, according to Hossein Ali Rezaei, the public relations officer of the IRGC in Mazandaran, 13 members of this IRGC were killed and 21 were injured in these clashes, with the bodies of 12 of them still in the hands of Assad's opponents. Also, according to IRGC officials in Gilan, six Iranian forces have also been captured. Iranian military officials have emphasized that Tehran will "retaliate" for the deaths of its forces in Khan Touman.