Iran says ‘critical’ for Syria militants to keep distance from Israel

“Their distance from the Zionist regime is one of the factors that is important to us,” Fatemeh Mohajerani told reporters during a weekly press briefing in the capital Tehran on Tuesday.

She added that Tehran is closely monitoring developments in Syria, and is eagerly awaiting to see the “behavior and performance” of the ruling armed groups before deciding on an approach to the Arab country.

Mohajerani noted that Iran’s investments in Syria have been in line with its “national interests”, and that Assad’s government collapsed because he failed to engage in talks with his own people and his army lacked any incentive to fight for him.

“We have had longstanding relations with Syria, in terms of both culture and civilization. Our traders would travel to the Levant from much older times, so our ties with Syria have a long history. We hope that what is ahead is what is good for the people of Syria and we wish them the best,” the Iranian government’s spokeswoman said.

Mohajerani also stated that thousands of Iranians have been brought home from Syria since the overthrow of Assad.

“Over the past three days, 4,000 Iranian citizens returned to Iran,” she said, asserting they left on 10 flights organized by the Tehran-based private airline Mahan Air.

She added that Iran would keep up its efforts “until the departure of the last Iranian” in Syria. Around 10,000 Iranian citizens have been living in Syria in recent years, according to official figures.

Militants waged a surprise two-pronged attack on Syria’s Aleppo and the countryside around Idlib on November 27. They marched southward to seize control of several major cities, including Hama, Homs, Dara’a, and Suwayda, before entering the capital Damascus early on December 8.