A senior Iranian official has said that the ceasefire in Syria had been imposed in order to save foreign-backed militants from a total defeat. According to Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the truce, which was brokered by the US and Russia and went into effect across Syria on February 27, actually helped the terrorist groups recover from their losses. Press TV reports: “In Syria, humiliating defeats of the terrorist groups which have the backing of certain regional countries, led to the imposition of a ceasefire that helped them recover in northern Syria where they faced a rout,” he said. “The Islamic Republic of Iran, while supporting the ceasefire, was aware that the truce should not pave the way for terrorist groups to regain their power,” he added. During the ceasefire, Shamkhani said, terrorists entered Syria from neighboring countries and seized Khan Tuman in Aleppo in early May. Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said earlier this month that 13 of its military advisers had been killed and 21 others wounded in Khan Tuman. Shamkhani’s remarks came as a report by the Associated Press said al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria has recruited thousands of militants since the truce went into effect. The reinforcement of the terrorist group is “illustrating how the [...]