Official Rejects Reports of Withdrawal of Iran, Hezbollah from Southern Syria
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An official close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement dismissed as untrue recent reports about the planned withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and Iranian military advisers from southern Syria.
Sheikh Sadiq al-Nabulsi said the claims about the planned withdrawal of Hezbollah and Iranian forces from southern Syria have been made in line with the Israeli regime’s interests.
“The news reports are not true,” he said, adding that such claims are aimed at undermining the image of Iran in Syria.
"The presence of Iranian advisers in Syria has been approved by the Syrian government, and the issue of these forces’ staying or withdrawing depends on the two sides’ agreements," Sheikh al-Nabulsi told RT Arabic.
The remarks came after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed on Thursday that Hezbollah and Iranian fighters are preparing to withdraw from southern Syria against the backdrop of regional and international negotiations currently underway between the US, Russia, and Jordan over the war-torn country's future.
The London-based organization said Iran and Hezbollah are planning to withdraw forces from the Daraa and Quneitra areas near the Israeli northern border.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently fighting against the central government.
In the meantime, Iran has remained a close ally of Syria and supports its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.
