Iran and Russia are preparing to establish a joint military headquarters in Syria, Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said on Tuesday, without giving details on location.
"We have initiated a joint work plan in cooperation with some countries in the region to fight terrorism. It is field and diplomatic work; it needs counseling to overcome some of the obstacles," Shamkhani said, as reported by al-Arabia English. "The visit of [Vladimir] Putin's representative was in this framework. We have established a joint military headquarters with Russia in Syria with the help of the Syrian army and the resistance forces and we have provided counseling services too," he added. The move came after the representative of Russian President Putin's visit to Tehran.
The battle for Aleppo is nearly over as regime forces along with Iranian troops, Shiite militias and Russian elite forces have captured the opposition-held parts of the city. Iran, which has a centralized Shiite version of Islam, has entered into competition with other regional actors, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Iran has been sending thousands of troops to Syria since the war broke out in 2011 and been supporting extremist Shiite groups like Hezbollah.
