Commander of the Ground Forces of the IRGC: We are cooperating with the Quds Force in Syria

On Tuesday, May 1, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the cooperation of this force with the Quds Force in Syria. Mohammad Pakpour stated to the 'DANA Information Network' that 'war has various dimensions, the most important of which is the ground aspect, and we have gone to assist the Quds Force in this area.' He added that the Ground Forces of the IRGC have sent 'experienced brothers as advisors' to Syria, who 'are currently there and we will continue to send more.' Pakpour explicitly stated: 'As long as they need our advisory assistance, we will continue. Therefore, when we say advisor, we should not imagine just 4-5 people.' He described Syria as the 'front line of resistance' and added that the Islamic Republic of Iran has 'advisors' in all dimensions in Syria. According to Iranian media reports, more than a thousand Iranian military personnel have been killed during the Syrian civil war. The commander of the Ground Forces of the IRGC said: 'When you want to provide advisory assistance to a country's army in war, you must be present on the scene, and we also have advisors in various aspects such as design, technical, specialized, tactical, and technical in Syria.' He stated that the Islamic Republic sends 'advisors' to Syria to ensure that 'the resistance front does not break' and added that 'we will do any assistance we can.' Previously, Mohammad Pakpour had confirmed reports of the presence of the Saberin unit, elite forces of the IRGC, in Syria and Iraq. He had stated in Bahman 1394 (January 2016) that 'when the attacks began from the borders of the country against our beliefs, the Saberin unit and other units of the Ground Forces went to the region in an advisory capacity to prevent violations against the shrine of Hazrat Zainab and the shrines of the Ahl al-Bayt in Iraq.' In addition to the Basij, IRGC, and army commandos referred to as 'military advisors,' brigades known as 'Fatimiyoun' composed of Afghan forces and 'Zainabiyoun,' Shia Pakistani forces, are also organized by the IRGC and fight alongside Bashar al-Assad's army and Hezbollah in Syria. According to a report previously published by Radio Farda, more than 15 groups of Shia militants are fighting on behalf of Iran in the Syrian civil war. Political officials and military commanders of the Islamic Republic state that the IRGC forces are present to defend Shia holy sites against 'takfiri and terrorist' groups in Syria and Iraq, but their mission is 'advisory.' In the official rhetoric of the Islamic Republic of Iran, these forces are referred to as 'defenders of the shrine.' American officials, including former President Barack Obama, have held Iran and Russia responsible for the killing of civilians in Aleppo. Iran, along with Russia, is one of the main supporters of the Syrian president. The military support of these two countries has been criticized by several regional countries and the West. In this context, Iran condemned the recent Israeli attack on Syrian territory.