TABNAK, Dec 21: Esmaeil Baghaei said that the presence of Iranian advisers in Syria from the beginning was aimed at helping the Syrian army and to fight terrorism and prevent the spread of insecurity to the surrounding and the entire region.
Stressing the long-term cooperation between Iran and Russia in fighting terrorism in Syria, he said that it is not unusual for the parties involved in the developments in Syria to have their own narratives about the developments and the role of different actors.
It seems that some of the issues regarding Iran's advisory role in Syria in the final days leading to the fall of Damascus were not based on accurate information, he added.
The Islamic Republic of Iran was present in Syria upon the invitation of the legitimate and established government of Syria, he said adding that Iran and Syria had effective cooperation against terrorism for many years and were successful in preventing the dangerous flow of ISIS from in Syria and Iraq and the spread of terrorism in the region.
After the fall of ISIS, Iran's military presence in Syria was limited to help Syria to prevent the revival of ISIS and Takfiri terrorism and also to strengthen its military power against the Zionist regime's adventurism, which was a successful action, he noted.
As it was evident, following the withdrawal of Iranian advisors from Syria, the Zionist regime immediately occupied strategic parts of Syria and at the same time destroyed the vital defense infrastructure of that country, Baghaei said.
Iran and Russia enjoy important relations in various fields and the interactions between the two countries are underway at different levels, he stressed.
We prefer to exchange opinions through official channels, he stated.
In response to a question about the number of Iranian nationals transferred from Syria, he said that these people included the families of diplomats and employees of Iran's diplomatic and cultural missions in Syria, Iranian pilgrims and a number of non-Iranian pilgrims and people who had gone to Syria to help the Lebanese refugees.
All these people were transported to Iran by Iranian planes and through Khmeimim Air Base, he added.
Bashar al-Assad government fell on December 8, in the day after armed groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered the capital Damascus and took control of the city.
That happened less than two weeks after the groups launched an offensive from their stronghold in the western province of Idlib, advancing towards other areas of Syria.
They first took control of the second largest city Aleppo within several days, and then the major cities of Hama and Homs before reaching Damascus.
