Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Abdolrahim Mousavi announced that Iran will continue sending volunteer military advisers to Syria. “Since the start of the conflict in Syria, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces voiced readiness for [overseas] deployment,” Mousavi told reporters on Monday, according to Fars News Agency. He said the Leader of Islamic Revolution and Commander-in-Chief Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was informed of the military forces’ preparedness and interest, and agreed to dispatch a number of advisers. The general underlined that the dispatch of military advisers to Syria is fully voluntary, stressing that “this will continue as long as necessary.” In relevant remarks last Wednesday, Armed Forces Commander Major General Ataollah Salehi dismissed the organized presence of his forces in Syria, saying that some army forces have been sent to the Arab country among other volunteer military advisers. “The army has no responsibility to provide advisory services to Syria and there is an organization in Iran that adopts related measures,” Salehi said.
