Shamkhani: Iran Has No Presence in Southern Syria

Following the emphasis by Russian officials on the withdrawal of Iranian and Hezbollah forces from southern Syria, Ali Shamkhani stated that Iran has no presence in this region. At the same time, a senior IRGC official praised the firing of rockets at the Golan Heights. Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, referred to Iranian forces in Syria as 'advisors' and stated that they 'have no presence in southern Syria.' Military officials of the Islamic Republic, including Hossein Hamadani and Mohammad Eskandari, have reported in recent years the formation and equipping of at least 42 brigades and 'the expectation of 130,000 trained Basij forces to enter Syria,' and the bodies of several Iranian casualties in Syria have been buried in government ceremonies upon their return to the country. Nevertheless, some officials of the Islamic Republic have referred to Iran's presence in Syrian territory as 'advisory,' and Bashar al-Assad has also recently denied the presence of Iranian combat forces in his country. In recent weeks, several senior Russian officials have emphasized the withdrawal of Iranian and Hezbollah forces from Syrian territory, and just a few days ago, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, announced that foreign forces must withdraw as soon as possible from southern Syria, bordering Jordan and Israel. In his interview with Shargh newspaper, Ali Shamkhani stated that Iran strongly supports Russia's efforts but described the aim of these efforts as 'the removal of terrorists from the Syrian-Jordan border and the control of the Syrian army over these areas.' Since two months ago, when direct confrontation between Iran and Israel began on Syrian soil, several rockets have been fired at the Golan Heights, and Israel has reported multiple attacks on Iranian positions. However, in his recent interview, Ali Shamkhani emphasized that Iranian forces 'had no role in the executed operations,' calling the attack on Israeli targets a 'victory of the resistance axis' and praising it. Another military official of the Islamic Republic also praised the attack on positions in the Golan Heights. Ramadan Sharif, the IRGC spokesman, who spoke at Friday prayers in Tehran on June 11, stated without going into details that for the first time, 'the Israelis received a serious blow from the Golan Heights.' The IRGC spokesman attributed this event to the 'resistance front' and called it 'unprecedented' and 'the beginning of a great path.' A few months ago, Israel bombed the T-4 base, accusing Iran of sending armed drones into its airspace, resulting in the deaths of at least seven IRGC members. Following this attack, Iranian officials threatened Israel with a 'crushing response' and 'at the appropriate time' for several weeks. Finally, in early June, several rockets were fired towards the Golan Heights, which according to General Amikam Norkin, the commander of the Israeli Air Force, numbered 32 rockets, of which all but four landed 'outside of Israel.' Following these attacks, the Israeli army announced that after realizing that Iran had transferred longer-range missiles and rockets 'for retaliation' to Syria, it targeted 'almost all Iranian positions in Syrian territory.' According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 27 people were killed during those attacks, of which at least 11 were Iranian. Israel has stated that it will not tolerate the consolidation of Iran's military presence in Syria. Russia has also announced that in order to create safe zones in Syria, foreign forces, including Iran and Hezbollah, must leave southwestern Syria as soon as possible. Iran's military presence in Syria has faced global condemnation, as well as criticism within the country. Nevertheless, in his interview with Shargh newspaper, Ali Shamkhani strongly criticized one of the newspaper's articles and described 'Iran's regional policies' as 'a trump card in ensuring national security and sustainable regional interests.' Shamkhani's reference was to a note published about two weeks ago by Javid Ghorbanoglu, a former Iranian Foreign Ministry official, in Shargh newspaper. In this senior diplomat's note titled 'Do Not Burn the Trump Cards,' it was mentioned that strengthening Europe's position against the U.S. 'requires serious determination from Iran in cooperation, and cooperation is a two-way stream.' This former diplomat also implicitly referred to the situation in Iraq following the victory of Muqtada al-Sadr's list in the elections, Russia's emphasis on the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria, and the 'losses of the Houthis in Yemen' in recent months as 'indicators of the status of Iran's trump cards in regional developments.' However, officials of the Islamic Republic have always prevented the widespread publication of any criticism within Iran regarding their regional policies, and Ali Shamkhani also described this diplomat's note as 'very superficial,' 'influenced by Western journalistic environments,' 'a misreading,' and 'surprising.'