Iran will continue to support Syrian government until final victory: Ali Akbar Velayati

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei

A senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has reiterated Iran’s support for Syrian government and nation in their bid to protect the war-stricken country's territorial integrity until a final victory is achieved.

“[Iran’s] support for this country will still continue until a final victory,” the Leader’s aide on international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, said in a meeting with Syrian Parliament Speaker Hadiya Khalaf Abbas in Tehran on Monday.

“We strongly support the [Syrian] government and [President] Bashar al-Assad himself,” he added.

He emphasized that Ayatollah Khamenei has put the issue of supporting Syria on the agenda of the Islamic Republic and that the Iranian administration has also provided the necessary support in this regard.

The top Iranian official noted that Tehran and Damascus have common goals in Syria and have been experiencing “growing and strategic” relations since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

He added that Iran and Syria have been strengthening mutual bonds on a daily basis and have managed to overcome various problems successfully.

Since the outbreak of the foreign-backed crisis in Syria in 2011, some 80 countries, mostly Western states and some reactionary Arab countries in the region, have participated in the acts of violence, Velayati said.

“They paid a huge price for the war on Syria and inflicted heavy expenses on the country’s people just because the Syrian government and nation have stood up against the Zionists,” Velayati pointed out.

He said the Iranian people are aware of the significance of the Syrians’ defense of their country and are voluntarily fighting terrorists in Syria.

The Syrian parliament speaker arrived in Tehran on Monday at the invitation of her Iranian counterpart, Ali Larijani, to hold talks with senior Iranian officials. Earlier in the day, she attended a joint press conference with Larijani.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict. Back in 2014, the UN said it would no more update its death toll for Syria because it could not verify the figures that it received from various sources.

A week-long truce, brokered by Russia and the US, came to an end across Syria on September 19.

Damascus refused to extend the deal after its military base was hit by US-led airstrikes near the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr in violation of the agreement.

In recent months, the Takfiri militants have suffered major setbacks as the Syrian army has managed to liberate several areas.