Daesh Elimination Delayed Due to West’s Support

"If it were not for the West’s support, Daesh (terrorists) would have committed suicide (in the region) sooner," Shamkhani said in an interview with Iran’s state-run TV on Tuesday night.

"We should not forget that Damascus was on the verge of collapse in January 2011, but the presence of Iranian military advisers and resistance forces with the Syrian government’s consent prevented it from happening," he added.

The senior Iranian official further noted that Russia also played an "effective” role in eliminating Daesh militants after it joined the conflict in Syria in 2015. 

In a message to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Tuesday morning, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Quds Force Major General Soleimani declared that the notorious group’s rule has come to an end with the accomplishment of a mission to liberate Syria’s eastern city of Al-Bukamal, near the Iraqi border.

Speaking on behalf of all commanders and forces fighting against terrorism, thousands of Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Lebanese, Afghan, and Pakistani martyrs and those handicapped in defending the life and dignity of Muslims and their sanctities, the top general congratulated Ayatollah Khamenei, the Iranian nation, the people of Iraq and Syria, and all Muslims on the fall of Daesh.