Flags of Iran and Syria
Flags of Iran and SyriaiStock

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, arrived on Tuesday in Damascus with a high-ranking military delegation, the Azerbaijani-based Trend news agency reported.

The visit is taking place at the official invitation of Syria’s Defense Minister, Major General Fahd Jassem al-Freij, according to the report.

Baqeri is expected to meet Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during the visit. The two are slated to discuss the expansion of defense cooperation and combat against terrorism, as well as ways to bring about stability to the region.

Iranian media reports described the top general’s visit as a sign of "Iran’s determination" to fight and confront terrorism.

Iran has been a major backer of Assad during the civil war in his country and has been providing him with both financial aid and military advisors against a range of opposing forces.

Near the start of the Syrian civil war, it was reported that then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had personally sanctioned the dispatch of officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to fight alongside Assad’s troops.

A senior Iranian commander said several months ago that Iran will provide military advisors to Syria for as long as necessary and stressed that “the advisory help isn't only in the field of planning but also on techniques and tactics.”

In August, it was revealed that Iran has been building a Scud missile factory in Syria near the city of Baniyas, south of Latakia.