Iran says Saudi troops in Syria unlikely

Iran reacted strongly to Saudi Arabia’s announcement last week expressing willingness to join ground operations in Syria, with a top commander saying, “I don’t think they will dare do so,” Fars News Agency reported.

“They have a classic army and history tells us such armies stand no chance in fighting irregular resistance forces," Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) was quoted as saying.

On Thursday, the spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s military said the country is ready to join any ground operation in Syria if required by the U.S.-led coalition.

"If there was a consensus from the leadership of the coalition, the kingdom is willing to participate in these efforts because we believe that aerial operations are not the ideal solution and there must be a twin mix of aerial and ground operations," military spokesman, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri, told Al Arabiya News Channel.

The U.S. welcomed the announcement with White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, saying that it is not clear yet if Saudi Arabia’s offer would include “a significant contingent of ground troops or the deployment of special operations forces,” Al Arabiya report said.

Since 2014, Saudi Arabia has been part of a U.S.-led coalition that has carried out several aerial strikes in Daesh-occupied regions of Syria.

The United Arab Emirates on Sunday said it was also ready to send ground troops to Syria as part of an international coalition, adding that U.S. leadership on the plan would be their prerequisite, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said at a media briefing in Abu Dhabi.

"We are not talking about thousands of troops but we are talking about troops on the ground that will lead the way... that will support... and I think our position remains the same and we will have to see how this progresses," he was quoted as saying in Reuters.