MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Tehran will continue to assist Damascus in the fight against militants as long as it is necessary because the war on terror in the Middle East is not over yet, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said in an interview with TASS.

"The war on terror is not over yet. We also joined the fight in the very beginning, when Iraq and Syria asked us to do it. And as long as it is necessary, we will continue to provide assistance to them. When no one needs our help anymore, we will stop doing that," Larijani said when asked if Iran planned to maintain its military presence in Syria after the victory over terrorists.

According to the Iranian parliament speaker, "Iran and Russia are at the frontline of the war on terror, while others only talk about it." "Various coalitions have been established to fight terrorism, but it was only on paper, while nothing really happened," he added, pointing out that "some countries said that they would fight against terrorism but in fact, they did nothing."

"However, Iran and Russia took practical steps to fight terrorism and everyone saw it," Larijani noted, adding that those steps had been successful. "ISIL [the former name of the Islamic State terror group outlawed in Russia - TASS] has suffered a very serious blow in Iraq and Syria," he said.

"But is the issue of terrorism and ISIL’s activities in the region closed? No. We must admit that there still are terrorist forces in Syria that have been moving to other countries," the Iranian parliament speaker said.