Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem announced in a press conference that the Syrian army is preparing to recapture the southern territories of the war-torn-country, which are adjacent to the border with Israel and Jordan and remain under the control of Islamist organizations. The Syrian top diplomat emphasized that while the Syrian army would use all means necessary to reassert Assad’s sovereignty over the territory, Damascus will initially start by pursuing a diplomatic solution. With regard to Jerusalem’s demand for an immediate Iranian withdrawal from Syria, the Syrian top diplomat stressed that “There are no Iranian military forces in Syria,” claiming that “Israel made (the allegation) up to help the United States to oppose Iran.”
“There are no Iranian military forces in Syria. Israel made it up to help the United States to oppose Iran. There are Iranian advisers in Syria and some of them have died while working with the Syrian forces. Their presence is part of an agreement and in coordination with the Syrian forces. There are no fixed military bases of Iran [in Syria],” Walid al-Muallem, Syrian Foreign Minister said.
Israeli officials rejected the Syrian Foreign Minister’s claim, as an unsuccessful attempt to deceive the international community of Iran’s clear involvement in destabilizing activities across the Middle East in general, and in Syria in particular.