The defense ministry said Iran has never sent “military forces” to Syria; IRGC chief Jafari stated in September that Quds Force members were in Syria to give the government “counsel and advice.” Syrian National Coalition chief Sabra alleged that “[t]housands of Iranian forces and its terrorist collaborators from Hezbollah are invading Syria.” The US has claimed that Iranian as well as Lebanese Hezbollah fighters are battling Syrian rebels in Qusayr. Ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and former government official Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie were barred from running for president.
