No Plan to Set Up Military Base in Syria

Tehran is not planning to establish a military base in the Syrian province of Latakia despite media allegations. This was declared by Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Deputy Commander for Political Affairs Lieutenant General Rasoul Sanaeirad on Monday, Sputnik reported. On Sunday, Breitbart News online outlet claimed that Tehran was close to reaching an agreement with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on establishing its naval base in Latakia as a reward for Iranian support during the six years of civil war. “Our presence in Syria consists of the presence of military advisers at the request of the Syrian government. We do not plan to establish a military base in the Syrian province of Latakia. Such an atmosphere is being created to destabilize the situation in the region and create disagreements between countries,” the IRGC general said. Iran, Russia and Turkey are guarantor states of the Syrian truce, which was established on December 30. The countries have brokered intra-Syrian Astana talks since January, which brought together Syrian armed opposition and government for the first time and resulted in an agreement on the establishment of a trilateral mechanism to monitor the ceasefire in Syria.