Syrian President Bashar Assad said that the term “advisors” is used used in a broad and multi-faceted sense and that “when this military formation goes into battle, the advisor transforms into a fighter.”
He said that “there are definitely Iranian advisors in Syria, and there are also groups of Iranian volunteers who have come to fight in Syria, and they are under the command of Iranian officers.”
Assad further said that just as it was necessary to have Russian air bases in Syria, “If we find, through our dialogue with the Iranians, that there is a need for Iranian military bases, we will not hesitate.”
His statements were made on the Iranian Al-Alam TV channel on June 13 and were published online by the Syrian president office and various Syrian media outlets.