Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Saeed Khatibzadeh, commented on a story circulating online about Iran’s terrorist designated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander in Syria being expelled, calling it nothing but a baseless rumor.
This is besides Iran’s state-run media affiliated with the IRGC posting news regarding the assignment of a new commander for its paid militias and forces in Syria.
Earlier this week, Syria’s leadership shunned the commander of Iran’s Quds Force in the country after he almost caused an “unwanted regional war”, according to Al-Hadath, a television network operated by Al-Arabiya.
Citing several Syrian sources familiar with the developments in the country, the report said the move against Mustafa Javad Ghafari was taken by high-ranking officials in the Assad regime, after “months of disputes.”
Ghafari has also been “excluded” over a series of actions he took that were viewed by dictator Bashar Assad as “a major breach of Syrian sovereignty at all levels.”
Among his misdeeds, Ghafari “transgressed Syrian customs and smuggled goods with the aim of creating a ‘black market,’ which constitutes a challenge and competition to the Syrian market.
“The Iranian forces in Syria have repeatedly exploited the Syrian natural resources for their personal interests, as well as looting economic resources and evading paying taxes to the Syrian state,” it added.
Estimates of Iran’s actual military and economic spending in Syria range from $30 billion to $105 billion to this date, according to a new report by a Lebanese newspaper.
Despite constant IRGC claims that it is there to help civilians, it has been providing money and aid only to members of its militias, while the people of the area it controls suffer from poverty.
Source » iranbriefing