The event in Aleppo was organized by the Iran-Syria friendship popular committee, and was attended by Iranian and Syrian cultural figures.
Participants in the ceremony congratulated Iran on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution’s victory, and commended Iran for supporting the Syrian nation during the hard times of a crisis that has gripped the Arab country for six years.
Christian and Muslim religious leaders were also present in the event.
Addressing the audience, Iran’s cultural attaché in Syria, Mostafa Ranjbar, said the Islamic Revolution does not belong to Iran alone, a sign of which is that the flag of Israel in Tehran was replaced with the Palestinian flag in 1979.
The Islamic Revolution is not merely Iranian, as Iran is also rejoicing at the liberation of Syria’s Aleppo, he noted.
On December 15, 2016, Syria announced the liberation of Aleppo from terrorist groups, with President Bashar al-Assad praising the victory as “history in the making and worthy of more than the word ‘congratulations’.”
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
In the meantime, Iran has remained a close ally of Syria and supports its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.
Tehran insists that the Syrian nation is the only side that has the right to shape the future of its own country, rejecting foreign intervention with the use of force.