Iranian Military Official: Saudi Arabia Lacks New Capabilities for Presence in Syria

In response to Saudi Arabia's intention to send troops to Syria, Masoud Jazayeri, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, stated that Saudi Arabia "lacks new capabilities for presence in Syria." According to a report on Tuesday, February 9, by the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Jazayeri, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran, added: "Soldiers, military personnel, and those involved in proxy wars have had a serious presence in Syria over the past five years. Now the question arises whether Saudi Arabia has new potential to re-enter Syria?" The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces stated that Saudi Arabia "lacks such capabilities" and mentioned that the country has "utilized all its resources in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen but... has not been able to achieve success in line with the policies of the U.S. and Zionists." Jazayeri, like other military commanders and political figures of the Islamic Republic, accused Saudi Arabia of being a "producer and distributor, supporter, and backer of terrorists in the region" over the years. These accusations come at a time when Saudi Arabia is a member of the U.S.-led international coalition fighting the Islamic State (ISIS). The country also considers groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Jabhat al-Nusra as "terrorists" and executed over 40 individuals accused of collaborating with these groups alongside Sheikh Nimr, a dissenting Shia cleric. Last week, Saudi Arabia announced its readiness to send ground forces to Syria to combat the Islamic State. The Syrian government reacted strongly to these statements, while the U.S. welcomed the proposal. Earlier, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stated that while sending Saudi ground forces to Syria is "not a bad thing," he added: "I don't think they have the courage to do this, and if they do, it would be a fatal blow to themselves." Saudi Arabia seeks the downfall of Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, while Iran firmly supports him.