Iran and its ally Hezbollah will stay in Syria until the country is liberated from terrorists and regains its territorial integrity, a Lebanese politician told Russian media Wednesday.

“If it had not been for Hezbollah [in Syria], Daesh [the Islamic State] would have been here [in Lebanon],” Nabih Berri, the country’s speaker of parliament, said. Berri is a close ally of Hezbollah in Lebanese politics.

The statement was made as a delegation of senior Russian officials traveled to Lebanon’s neighbor Israel, where the two countries discussed the future of Syria and a potential plan to move Iran’s militias away from the region of southern Syria that borders Israel. Both Moscow and Tehran are currently in Syria to provide military and other kinds of support to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

Reports have suggested that Russia and Israel have reached a deal that would see Iranian militia fighters retreat at least 15 miles from the border.

Source :   www.newsweek.com