TEHRAN – Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of the Expediency Council, on Tuesday lauded Iran’s intelligence service, saying when ISIS-related documents are released, the world would come to realize that Iranian intelligence forces had infiltrated the terrorist group prior to its collapse.

Rezaee made the remarks during a ceremony to commemorate the establishment of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps’ Aviation Protection.

“Today, Iran’s intelligence is the biggest of its kind in the region,” he was quoted by Mehr as saying.

Last month, Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC Quds Force, declared the end of ISIS (called Daesh in its Arabic abbreviation) in a message to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The announcement uncovered Iran’s crucial role in the fight against terrorism to a greater extent. 

On such role, Rezaee said the Islamic Republic is only defending Muslims and other people in the region.

“We’re fighting terrorism beyond our borders because Iran’s security depends on the security of regional countries,” he said.

Rezaee, who commanded the IRGC from 1981 to 1997, warned that regional challenges will persist unless the influence of the United States and other Western countries in the region is decreased and the countries of the region are empowered.

He also made a reference to the decline of Iran’s power in the past, which he said started some 300 years ago but was revived with the dawn of the Islamic Revolution. “When our power started to wane, large parts of our lands and properties were looted.”

The official added that the Islamic Revolution, in its essence, was a movement to bring back the country’s national power and security.

He also expressed the hope that other regional countries, including Palestine, would regain their power as well.

MH/PA