TEHRAN, YJC. Iran's Foreign Ministry says Tehran is prepared to take practical measures in the Syrian city of Kobani if it receives an official request from Damascus.
"Kobani is a part of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and if this government makes a request and asks for any assistance, we are ready to help,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
She also noted that Iran would dispatch humanitarian aid and medicine to people in Kobani as soon as possible.
Maintaning that the Syrian government has not yet made any official request of Iran for any action against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists, Afkham said, "We have always announced that national sovereignty and international norms and conventions should be dealt with carefully in every operation against terrorism."
Her remarks come as Kurdish fighters in Kobani are getting the upper hand amid urban warfare between them and the ISIL terrorists.
International observers say over 400 people have been killed in the three weeks of battle around Kobani. The fatalities include 220 ISIL terrorists, 170 Kurdish fighters and over 20 civilians.
The intense fighting for the strategic town has forced nearly 200,000 people to take refuge in Turkey.
For more than two weeks, ISIL militants have been attempting to seize the predominantly Kurdish town, driving 180,000 of its residents into neighboring Turkey.
Airstrikes by warplanes of the United States and Persian Gulf Arab countries have failed to halt ISIL’s advance, with the group making gains on the outskirts of the town over the weekend and battling to secure a strategic hilltop in the face of fierce resistance. Warplanes believed to belong to the forces of the U.S.-led coalition also struck ISIL targets on Tuesday.