IRGC Monitoring ISIL Moves in Region

"The IRGC has monitored the ISIL terrorist group's strategies and geographical presence and this monitoring continues," General Sharif said on Saturday.

He stressed the IRGC's good intelligence superiority over the ISIL, and said, "Like the past 6 years, the IRGC has been able to defeat the ISIL and its creators by playing an advisory role in Iraq and Syria."

"No doubt the IRGC will prevent formation of the ISIL again at regions around the Iranian borders," General Sharif said.

His remarks came days after Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei expressed deep regret over the massacre of the Afghan people in the recent terrorist attacks, blaming the US for the tragedies by transferring the ISIL terrorists to Afghanistan to guarantee its presence in the region.

"The US goal of transferring the ISIL terrorists to Afghanistan is justification of its continued deployment in the region and establishment of security for the Zionist regime," Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing the Iranian seminaries in Tehran late in January.

"The same hands which used the ISIL as a tool to oppress and commit crimes against the people in Syria and Iraq by its creation, is today after transferring the ISIL to Afghanistan after sustaining defeat in those regions, and the recent massacres are actually the start of this plot," he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the US-backed terrorists don’t differentiate between the Shiites and Sunnis, and added, "The US wants this region not to see good days and wants the regional governments and nations to be busy with their own affairs so that they don’t think of opposing the evil agent of arrogant powers, that is Zionism."

He described the United States' other goal of creation of insecurity as justification of its presence in the region, and said, "The Americans, themselves, are the main cause for insecurity in Afghanistan and the killings in this region since 20 years ago under the name of religion were carried out, directly or indirectly, by the US agents, and they are now after guaranteeing their presence by fomenting insecurity and attaining their political and economic objectives."

IRGC Quds Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani in a message to Ayatollah Khamenei in November declared the end of ISIL control over Syria and Iraq.

General Soleimani in his message blamed the US for all crimes committed by the ISIL terrorist group in the regional states, and said the Iraqi and Syrian governments and armies as well as the Hashd al-Shaabi (Iraqi popular forces) and the Lebanese resistance group led by Seyed Hassan Nasrallah certainly played a decisive role in defeating the ISIL.

"Definitely, the valuable role of the nation and servant government of the Islamic Republic, specially the honorable president, parliament, the defense ministry and the military, law enforcement police and security organizations of our country in supporting the aforementioned governments and nations is appreciable," he added, stressing the important role of the wise leadership of Ayatollah Khamenei and senior Iraqi Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani in the victory over the ISIL terrorist group.

"...Having accomplished the Albu Kamal liberation operation, the ISIL's last stronghold (in Syria), pulling down the US-Zionist (ISIL) group's flag and hoisting the Syrian flag, I declare the end of" ISIL control, General Soleimani concluded.