In a telephone conversation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday evening, President Rouhani offered his congratulations over recent victories of the Syrian nation over Foreign-backed militants and the liberation of last strongholds of Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) terrorist group in the Arab country.

“Some Western powers and their regional stooges thought that Daesh would either occupy Iraq and Syria or would be able to commit crimes and wreak havoc in the region for years,” he noted.

Rouhani also underlined that Iran and Syria managed to reach a major achievement through siding each other in the years-long battle.

He further pointed to the future of relations between the two countries and said, “The strategic ties between Iran and Syria will continue and we will proceed with the right path together to serve the interests of the two nations and the regional countries.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is prepared to actively participate in Syria’s reconstruction,” the Iranian president said.

Assad, for his part, hailed Iran’s stance on Syria and said the Syrian nation is grateful to the Iranian people and government for the recent victories against Daesh terrorists.

The self-proclaimed caliphate of Daesh collapsed in Syria and Iraq after the Arab countries’ forces and their allies managed to recapture Al-Bukamal, the terror group’s last stronghold in Syria.

In recent years, the Middle East region has been plagued with Takfiri terrorist groups like Daesh, which are believed to have been created and supported by the West and some regional Arab countries.

The terrorist groups, which claim to be Islamic but whose actions are anything but, have been committing heinous crimes not only against non-Muslims but mostly against Muslims in the region.

Iraq and Syria had been gripped by insurgency with various terrorist groups, including Daesh.

In the meantime, Iran has remained a close ally of the countries and supported their legitimate governments in the face of foreign-backed militancy.

The defense ministry will make every effort to keep upgrading the defensive capabilities of all units of the Armed Forces, the IRGC in particular, in the areas of modern and strategic systems and equipment, Brigadier General Hatami said.

He further noted that convergence and enhanced cooperation among different units of the Armed Forces could help improve the country’s defensive might.

He made the remarks on Monday during a meeting with Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari in Tehran.

The two generals stressed the importance of improving the country’s defensive power and quickening its pace in order to be able to counter any potential threats in the future.

Recently, Brigadier General Hatami had stressed that the ministry would keep providing full support for the IRGC, the Army, and the Police in various areas, such as air defense, missile industry, naval programs, and border control.

General Hatami has replaced Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan as defense minister. He won the highest number of votes in a parliamentary ballot for the vote of confidence for President Rouhani’s 17 ministerial picks.