TEHRAN (Dispatches) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) denied Wednesday reports that its troops had been involved in a direct ground operation against Takfiri militants in Syria.
IRGC spokesman Ramezan Sharif emphasized that IRGC forces have not launched any ground operation independent of Syrian troops.
His comments came after Al Mayadeen TV said IRGC had launched an extensive military operation in Hamimah region, northwest of the Syrian city of Homs, to avenge Daesh’s beheading of military advisor Mohsen Hojaji last week.
Sharif said the IRGC would keep providing advisory supports for the Syrian army and popular forces until the eradication of Takfiri terrorism in the Arab country.
He also underscored that fierce revenge awaited Daesh over the beheading, and that plans for the retaliation will be put into practice at an appropriate time.
In a message following the terrorist move, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force Major General Qassem Soleimani said Iran would exact a terrible revenge on Daesh.
On Tuesday, Sharif said Iran would boost its military capabilities, describing any decline in a country’s military power as a grave mistake.
Speaking in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, he said the IRGC has made great headways in various fields over the past twenty years.
The enemies, he said, would have attacked Iran if the country had not built up its military capabilities. "While the IRGC does not favor a war, it is fully prepared to defend Iran against any assault,” he said.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said Iran’s response to any aggression would not be confined to defense alone and that the aggressors would face crushing offensives.
"The era of hit and run has ended,” the Leader said in May 2015, adding the Iranian nation would chase aggressors to their hideouts.