A senior officer with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard says that the unit is sending volunteer "advisers" to assist Syrian government forces.
General Mohsen Kazemeini explained that the Islamic Republic has an "obligation" to fulfill President Bashar al-Assad's request to protect Shi'ite holy sites in Syria.
"The Basij division of Tehran carries out registration of volunteers for advisory activities in Syria," he said. "Only a few of those trained are dispatched to Syria."