Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps is ready to help rebuild Syria and bring about a lasting "ceasefire" in the Arab country, IRGC's chief commander, Mohammad Ali Jafari, said.
He also stressed that disarming Lebanon's Hezbollah is out of the question. Regional tensions have risen in recent weeks between the two regional powerhouses Iran and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah resistance movement of helping Houthi forces in Yemen launch a ballistic missile attack on the kingdom earlier this month. Iran and Hezbollah both denied the claims.
"Hezbollah must be armed to fight against the enemy of the Lebanese nation, which is Israel. Naturally, they should have the best weapons to protect Lebanon's security. This issue is not negotiable," Jafari said in a press conference on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Spiritual Assistance
Iran denies giving financial and military support to Houthis in the struggle for Yemen, blaming the deepening crisis on Riyadh.
"Iran only provides advisory and spiritual assistance to Yemen ... and this help will continue," he said.
Jafari praised the success of Iranian allies across the region, hailing a "resistance front" from Tehran to Beirut and called on Riyadh to avoid confronting this front.
"We directly deal with global arrogance and Israel, and not with their emissaries ... That is why we do not want to have direct confrontation with Saudi Arabia," he said.
Leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed on Wednesday to help support a full-scale political process in Syria and announced an agreement to sponsor a conference in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi to help end Syria's civil war.
"IRGC is ready to play an active role in the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Syria ... and reconstruction of the country," Jafari said.
"In meetings with the [Iranian] government, it was agreed that the IRGC is in a better position to help Syria's reconstruction ... Preliminary talks have already been held with the Syrian government over the issue."
Jafari reiterated Iran's stance on its ballistic missile work, saying the Islamic Republic's missile program is for defensive purposes and not up for negotiation.
The program was not part of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions.
"Iran will not negotiate its defensive program ... There will be no talks about it," he said.
"[French President Emmanuel] Macron's remarks over our missile work were made because he is young and inexperienced."
Macron said earlier this month that Tehran should modify its regional policies and engage in talks over its ballistic missile program.
