Saudi troops deployment in Syria political joke: Iranian commander

A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says Saudi Arabia’s plan for the deployment of ground troops to Syria sounds more like a “political joke.”

The Saudi ground forces will not be capable of combating Takfiri terrorists in Syria, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, second-in-command of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said in a live televised interview Saturday night.

This is a psychological warfare carried out by the Saudi regime with specific goals in an attempt to portray itself as a fighter against terrorism and divert attention from its deadly aggression against Yemen, Salami stated.

He added that Riyadh has been funding and arming all terrorist and Takfiri groups in Syria, describing the ruling Al Saud regime as the root cause of chaos and massacre in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

Salami said regional countries would never be deceived by the Saudi plot to send troops into Syria, because Riyadh has no capability to make any change in the status quo.

On February 4, Igor Konashenkov, Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman, said Turkey is making "preparations for an armed invasion" of Syria.

Moscow “registers a growing number of signs of hidden preparation of the Turkish Armed Forces for active actions on the territory of Syria,” Konashenkov added.

On the same day, Saudi Arabia said it was ready to participate in any ground operations in Syria if the US-led coalition, which is allegedly targeting terrorists in Syria, decides to start such operations. US State Department spokesman, John Kirby, welcomed the Saudi decision.

Salami also hailed as a “big event” the recent gains made by Syrian forces in the northern countryside of Aleppo Province.

“The liberation of Nubbul and Zahra [towns] changed the fate of regional and international political equations about Syria,” the IRGC commander said, emphasizing that Saudi Arabia was “one of the main losers and the strategic loser of recent victories made by Syria’s resistance.”

Pro-government forces on February 3 succeeded in breaking the three-and-a-half-year siege on two Shia-dominated towns of Nubbul and Zahra, in a major blow to al-Qaeda-linked militants operating along the Turkish border.

The Syrian army, backed by the Russian air force, has dealt a series of heavy blows to terrorists across Syria over the past few months.

The Iranian commander added that Iran will not change its policies regarding Syria, saying, “Our policies to support Syria’s political system are logical and based on common interests and such backing will continue at political and military levels.”

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