Iran admits aiding Assad's regime

Iran confirmed Sunday that it has, as previously speculated, sent troops to aid president Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in his country. The United Nations and human rights groups estimate that over 13,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March 2011 – 9,200 of them civilians. "If the Islamic Republic was not present in Syria, the massacre of civilians would have been twice as bad," General Ismail Qa'ani, deputy-commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force, told Tehran's ISNA news agency. Iran, he added, "Had physically and non-physically stopped the rebels from killing many more among the Syrian people". This was a rare admission by an Iranian official that Tehran was aiding the Damascus regime. The quote was later removed from the ISNA's website. Sunday's statement was particularly strident, as it followed the brutal killing of 92 people, including 32 children, in Houla, in the embattled province of Homs, by regime forces. The carnage was strongly condemned by the United Nations, the United States, Britain, Germany and France; and the Arab League called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council. Earlier Sunday, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdissi said "armed groups" carried out the attack in Houla. Makdissi told reporters: "No Syrian artillery or heavy weapons were used in the area of Houla". The al-Arabiya news channel, reported that this is considered the first official confession for Iran's involvement in the events taking place in Syria. The Syrian opposition, accuses Iran's Quds Force of suppressing Syrian protesters. However, Iran denies these accusations. Media sources reported earlier, that the Commander of Iran's Quds Forcess , general Qasem Soleimani, is present in Syria in order to support troops loyal to al-Assad against opposition forces. US officials confirm the continuation of Tehran's logistic and armed support to Damascus in order to suppress dissents.