Iran aims to send missiles and drones to Syria and increase the number of its military advisers there to support President Bashar al-Assad in his battle against opposition fighters, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday.
"It is likely that Tehran will need to send military equipment, missiles and drones to Syria ... Tehran has taken all necessary steps to increase number of its military advisers in Syria and deploy forces," the official said on condition of anonymity.
"Now, Tehran is providing intelligence and satellite support to Syria."
Thousands of people fled the central Syrian city of Homs overnight and into Friday morning, a war monitoring group and residents said, as opposition forces sought to push their lightning offensive against government forces further south.
The head of the Syrian faction leading the sweeping assault told CNN that his group – the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - aimed to "build Syria" and bring Syrian refugees back home from Lebanon and Europe.
It was Abu Mohammed Al-Golani's first interview since his group began seizing territory from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces on Nov. 27. Opposition fighters have captured two major cities so far and are now thrusting toward Homs, a key crossroads city linking the capital Damascus to Assad's coastal heartlands.
