Iran has sent a high-level military advisor to Syria, where the civil war is intensifying, according to a report by Iran’s state-run Arabic broadcaster Al-Alam on the 4th (local time).
The report states that an Iranian military advisory team, led by general-level officer Jawad Ghaffari, has arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus, to assist the Syrian government’s military response.
In relation to this, the dpa news agency has noted that Ghaffari was referred to as “the Butcher of Aleppo” following his role during the Syrian government’s recapture of Aleppo in 2016.
He is known to have been active in Syria as a member of the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and was reportedly close to Qasem Soleimani, the Quds Force commander assassinated by the U.S. in 2020.
Iran, which supports the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, is even discussing the possibility of deploying troops to Syria.
On the previous day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mentioned in an interview with the Qatari-affiliated media outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “If the Syrian government wants troop deployment, we will consider their request.”