Khamenei Claims Iranian Military Presence in Syria Prevents 'Enemies' from Entering Iranian Cities

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated, "If the enemies and seditionists were not stopped in Syria, we would have to confront them in Tehran, Fars, Khorasan, and Isfahan." The Supreme Leader made these remarks during a meeting with the families of seven Iranian commandos killed in Syria. Official Iranian media refer to the soldiers killed in Syria as "Martyrs of the Defender of the Shrine." According to a report from Khamenei's office on Thursday, January 6, he also mentioned that Iranian forces "grounded the enemy." Iran's military presence in Syria has drawn criticism from several regional countries as well as the West. Opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad claim that Iranian forces and their allies, including Hezbollah, are actively involved in the battles in Syria. In contrast, Tehran claims it has only sent military advisors to the country. According to Iranian media reports, over a thousand Iranian soldiers have been killed during the Syrian civil war. Concurrently with the Supreme Leader's statements on Thursday, Mohsen Rezai, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council and a commander of the Revolutionary Guards, stated in a speech in Kermanshah, "Enemies told the Takfiris to approach Kermanshah, seize Kurdistan, and finish the revolution." He did not provide any evidence to support his claim. Iranian officials typically name the United States and Israel as enemies. According to the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, Rezai referred to the "Takfiris" as the "Samiri calf," claiming that the "enemy" is trying to incite conflict within the Islamic world through them. He added, "When the enemy saw that bombs and media could not silence Allahu Akbar, they created humans of our kind, and this was a complex trick." Rezai also announced that "the sedition created by the Takfiris is coming to an end and is taking its last breath," stating, "After the destruction of the Takfiris, a great unity will emerge among the Islamic world, and the sincerity of the Islamic Republic of Iran will shine in the world." Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Aerospace Force of the Revolutionary Guards, also said on Thursday, "Our security today is due to very strong intelligence gatherings and taking the enmity of enemies seriously, and if the Guards had not stood firm, we would witness suicide attacks in our cities every day." In this context, the number of Iranian casualties in the Syrian civil war has surpassed "one thousand."