Tehran will help rebuild Syria, says Iran defence minister

Iran's top defence official has met Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and the country's defence minister in Damascus, pledging to contribute to the war-torn country's reconstruction. Tehran has provided steady political, financial and military backing to Assad during the civil war which is in its eighth year. On Sunday, Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami met his Syrian counterpart Ali Abdullah Ayyoub as well as Assad and said it was agreed with Syria that Iran would have "presence, participation and assistance" in reconstruction "and no third party will be influential in this issue". "Syria is at a very, very important juncture. It is passing through the critical stage and it is entering the very important stage of reconstruction," said Hatami, in comments carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB. Since it erupted in 2011, Syria's war has cost it approximately $388bn, according to the United Nations' Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. Last month, President Assad said reconstruction was his "top priority" in Syria, where more than 350,000 people have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes. World powers, who long called for Assad's removal, insist reconstruction aid should only come with political transition, but fellow regime ally Russia is pressing them to provide support. According to comments carried by the state media, Assad told Hatami that Damascus and Tehran should set "long-term cooperation plans". Minister Ayoub also championed the two countries' special relationship, saying that "Syrian-Iranian relations are a model for bilateral ties between independent and sovereign nations". The two countries have had strong ties for years - Iran has dispatched military forces to Syria but insists they are advisors, not fighters. Iran-backed armed groups, including the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah movement, have also backed Assad's troops. With help from them and Russian warplanes, Assad has recaptured around two-thirds of the country and is now eyeing the northwest province of Idlib. "Idlib will return to the nation's bosom, and all Syrian soil will be cleansed of terrorism, either through reconciliation or ground operations," said Ayoub who also slammed the US, which has established military bases in Syria to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group. "The Americans are looking for a way to stay east of the Euphrates River to lock in their presence in this region," said Ayoub. The comments came a day after a senior US diplomat, ambassador William Roebuck, visited territory around those bases and said the US was "prepared to stay" in Syria to defeat ISIL, but was also "focused" on ousting Iran. Source: Al Jazeera