Iran ready to equip Syria with advanced arms: Defense minister
Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said Tehran is prepared to equip the Syrian military forces with sophisticated weapons and open “strategic defense gear” factories in the Arab country.
The Iranian defense minister, who was accompanying the Iranian president during a visit to Syria last week, held a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Ali Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on Monday to weigh plans for closer cooperation between the two states, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Highlighting Iran’s support for Syria in a full-fledged war against the Daesh terrorist group, Ashtiani said Iran’s Defense Ministry is prepared to arm the Syrian armed forces with the most advanced defense weapons.
Voicing Iran’s readiness to establish “defense and multilateral infrastructures” in Syria and strengthen the Arab nation’s military capabilities, the defense minister said Iran can cooperate with Damascus in the construction of factories and production of “strategic defense equipment” in order to improve the Syrian people’s security. For his part, the Syrian defense minister expressed gratitude to Iran for contributing to security and stability in his country.
General Mahmoud Abbas underlined that reinforced defense power will prepare Syria as a member of the axis of resistance in the war on terrorism. Warning of hostile attempts to undermine the brotherly ties between Syria and Iran, the Syrian defense minister stated that the bilateral relations are growing to the benefit of regional security and stability.
In July 2020, Iran and Syria signed a comprehensive agreement to enhance their cooperation in the military and defense sectors.
Iran began providing Syria with advisory military assistance after numerous countries, at the head of them the U.S. and its Western and regional allies started funding and arming militants and terrorists with the aim of deposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in 2011.
Despite initially losing considerable areas to Daesh and other terror outfits, the country, however, rallied with the help of Iran and Russia, another ally of Damascus, and reversed the balance in favor of itself on the battleground.