TEHRAN - The chief of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Saturday mocked a an announcement by Saudi Arabia that it is ready to deploy troops in Syria, saying the Saudi Army is a “classic” one which is not capable of countering “Islam’s warriors”, a reference to resistance forces fighting the Saudi-backed militants in Syria.

Mohammad Ali Jafari said Saudi Arabia does not dare to send forces to Syria. It will be a “coup de grace” if the Saudi government deploys troops in Syria, the senior general noted.

“Recent victories in Syria and consecutive and wide-scale defeats of the front which is against the resistance (front) have upset their (Saudi Arabia’s) calculations,” Jafari told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony.

Saudi Arabia sought to gain benefits from the Syrian crisis through providing financial and military aid to militants but the recent victories of the resistance front has put their calculations into disarray, he noted.

On Thursday, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri, the spokesman of Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry, said that Saudi Arabia has offered for the first time to send ground troops to Syria to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

“The kingdom is ready to participate in any ground operations that the coalition (against ISIL) may agree to carry out in Syria,” Guardian quoted him as saying during an interview with al-Arabiya TV news.

NA/PA