TEHRAN – The Deputy Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Mohammad Jafar Asadi, announced that Iranian military advisor Kiomars Pourhashemi was martyred in Syria by an infiltrator acting on behalf of the United States.

“An American agent was responsible for the martyrdom of our commander in Aleppo,” Asadi revealed to an Iranian news agency on Monday.

He dismissed allegations that a Syrian general was behind the killing, labeling them as “Israeli propaganda aimed at creating discord between Iran and Syria,” and emphasizing that such claims originate from the West.

Brigadier General Pourhashemi, an advisor within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was martyred on November 28 in Aleppo. Initially, details surrounding his assassination were not disclosed.

On Sunday, however, a correspondent from China's CGTN in Ankara claimed that Pourhashemi was shot by a Syrian officer during a meeting in a joint operations room in Aleppo, which was denied by Brigadier General Asadi.

Further illustrating the challenges faced by the Syrian army, Asadi remarked, “With the whole world mobilized against them, they barely have food and water.”

He also highlighted Russia's challenges in Syria due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, stating, “The Russians have been bogged down for a long time, with NATO's imposed war leaving them unable to do much.”

Drawing a parallel with Libya, Asadi suggested that accountability in Syria has become opaque: “Now in Syria, there's no accountability anymore; you can blame anyone for any murder.”

Regarding the “National Defense Forces” in Syria, established by the martyred General Qasem Soleimani, Asadi commented, “This force was formed with great difficulty during General Soleimani's time, but the Syrian army did not warmly welcome it. Assad himself didn't understand why volunteers should take up arms.”

He added that, after extensive persuasion, about 120,000 people joined this force, significantly aiding the army at the time.

However, Asadi lamented the decline of this force, noting, “When militants gathered in Idlib near Turkey, Americans and Israelis supplied them with weapons, while the National Defense Forces were sidelined, their numbers reduced from 120,000 to 20,000.”

Addressing potential tensions between Resistance forces and current Syrian rulers, Asadi observed that every country has patriots who don't need a specific label.

“The humiliation Israel is imposing on Syria now will surely provoke a response from the proud youth of Syria,” Asadi asserted.

He added that “Syrian patriots will certainly respond to this disgrace and aggression in the future.”