Ahmadian made the remarks in a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal in Tehran on Tuesday.

The SNSC chief underscored that the recent “malicious act” sounds a serious warning that terrorist groups supported by the US and the Zionist regime are trying to make a comeback in Syria, pointing to the bomb attack near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine in a Southern suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed at least six and injured several more.

“The enemies of Syria, who failed to advance their policy in the 2011 war, are again trying to challenge the political stability of this country with such desperate bids while undermining the public security of Syria,” he stressed.

Ahmadian said the West’s plot against Syria is not limited to a full-fledged terrorist war, noting that besides terrorist activities by Takfiri groups such as Daesh (alson known as ISIL or ISIS) and the Al-Nusra Front, they have used all political and international pressure as well as tough economic sanctions against the Arab country.

The top security official added the steadfastness of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, the Syrian government and nation as well as the assistance provided by the resistance front led to the complete failure of plots by the Western-Zionist think tanks.

Ahmadian praised Syria’s recent promotion of diplomatic relations with regional countries and described it as an important step towards resolving differences between Muslim countries, which he stated paves the way for reducing foreign intervention.

“In order to disrupt the new de-escalation process in the region, Washington is trying to create fabricated crises in Syria through military campaigns and controlled conflicts, and continues to portray itself as an important and influential actor in Syria to persist with its illegal and illegitimate presence,” Ahmadian stressed.

Mekdad, for his part, said the illegal US military presence in Syria is in violation of the Arab country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, adding, “The US seeks to revive terrorist cells to prevent the establishment of lasting stability in Syria.”

He called the Zionist regime’s "acts of mischief" in the region and repeated military acts of aggression against Syria as a real example of “state terrorism” and “provocative".

“Terrorism, military aggression and cruel sanctions cannot dent the will of the Syrian nation to resist the coercion and excessive demands of the enemies,” the minister continued.

Iranian FM Urges US Immediate Pullout from Syriahttps://t.co/bBYqHJ38dz pic.twitter.com/HKVllTM66Y

— Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) August 1, 2023

Since 2011, Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy, as a result of which Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL) and other terror groups emerged in the country.

US forces were first sent to Syria in 2014, beginning with a contingent of special operators followed by more conventional ground troops the next year, most embedded with Kurdish fighters in the country’s oil-rich Northeast. Though then-President Barack Obama maintained the deployment was focused only on combating the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorists, Washington had long intervened in Syria’s war against terror groups, sending and overseeing countless arms shipments to militants seeking to overthrow the government in Damascus.

Though American involvement in the conflict slowed under the next administration, in 2019 President Donald Trump noted some US troops would remain in Syria “for the oil”, openly suggesting Washington would simply “keep” the energy resources. 

Subsequent reporting in 2020 would later reveal that the Trump administration had approved a deal between a US energy firm and Kurdish authorities controlling Northeast Syria to “develop and export the region’s crude oil” – a contract immediately condemned as “illegal” by Damascus. However, while that particular deal would later fall through after President Joe Biden took office, Syrian authorities have continued to accuse Washington of plundering its resources and some 900 US troops remain in the country illegally.

Syria, Iran, Russia and China have repeatedly called on Washington to stop plundering Syria’s national resources and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Arab country, calling on foreign occupation forces and their mercenaries to leave the war-ravaged country.

Also, Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a key role in helping the Syrian Army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists.

The Tel Aviv regime rarely comments on its cowardly attacks on Syrian territories, which many see as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s success in confronting and decimating terrorism.

Israel has been one of the main supporters of terrorist groups that oppose the democratically-elected government of President Bashar Al-Assad since the foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria.

Iran maintains an advisory mission in Syria at the request of Damascus with the aim of helping the war-ravaged country get rid of the foreign-backed militants who have been fighting against the democratically-elected Syrian government since 2011. Several members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have so far martyred in battle against terrorists in the war-torn Syria.