Hezbollah Leader: We Will Remain in Syria Until Further Notice

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah Lebanon stated that the group will remain in Syria "until further notice" and as long as the Syrian government deems it necessary. Hassan Nasrallah made this statement on Wednesday during a speech on Lebanese television, emphasizing that Hezbollah will stay in Syria despite the agreement between Russia and Turkey regarding Idlib, which prevents the Syrian army from attacking the area. According to AFP, Nasrallah, speaking on the occasion of Ashura, linked Hezbollah's presence in Syria to the "necessity and consent" of the Syrian leadership. Hezbollah officially entered the Syrian war in favor of Bashar al-Assad in 2013, with Iran and Russia being other main supporters of the Syrian president. Russian military support since 2015 has significantly turned the war in favor of Bashar al-Assad, allowing for the recapture of areas previously held by rebels. Currently, most regions of Syria are under Assad's control, with Idlib province being referred to as the last stronghold of the rebels in the country. Hezbollah has also fought against members of the Islamic State in Syria alongside anti-Assad rebels, and Nasrallah stated that the presence of this group depends on the conditions of the front and the level of threats in Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in the UK, 1,665 Hezbollah militants have been killed during the Syrian civil war. Moscow and Turkey, which support some of the anti-Assad groups, agreed this week in Sochi, Russia, to create a buffer and demilitarized zone in Idlib. Nasrallah noted that if everything proceeds according to the precise implementation of this agreement, Syria will soon witness a "great calm" and there will no longer be a military front in the country. Senior officials of the Islamic Republic have repeatedly emphasized the continuation of Iran's presence in Syria. For instance, Amir Hatami, Iran's Minister of Defense, stated earlier this month that despite U.S. pressures for withdrawal from Syria, Iran's military presence will continue. During a visit to meet with Bashar al-Assad and senior military officials in Syria, he signed a military cooperation agreement with his Syrian counterpart, the details of which were not disclosed. Hossein Dehghan, a military advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, also stated that if Syria requests "help" to confront the U.S. in the eastern part of its territory, the Islamic Republic will provide "military support". Since 2012, more than a thousand Iranian forces, including several senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, have been killed in Syria. Initially, the Revolutionary Guards concealed their presence in Syria, but in recent years, alongside increasing Iranian casualties, they have openly commented on their military presence in Syria, describing it as a vital battle against the fighters of the "Islamic Caliphate" group.