Iran is equipping and training Syrian government forces but not providing "direct aid", its Interior Minister said Monday on a trip to Damascus, AFP reports.
Tehran is a staunch ally of President Bashar al-Assad and has continued to support him throughout the uprising that began in March 2011.
Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said Iran was providing both Syria and Iraq with aid "in advisory form."
That "means transferring experience and offering expert help and, if necessary, we will provide training too," he said, speaking in Farsi at a press conference in Damascus.
Fazli noted that Iran's assistance had been requested by the Syrian government, which has also sought support from ally Russia.