Iran’s Supreme Leader last month reportedly instructed Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah to prevent the overthrow of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad “at all costs,” according to Arab officials speaking to a Kuwaiti outlet.

Over the past few days a source affiliated with Hezbollah told the Arab press that Hezbollah units were taking part in the fighting in Syria and played a significant if not decisive role in the Syrian army’s recapture of a strategic city located on the international route between Damascus and Daraa, located in the south of the country.

Nasrallah has poured over 1,000 Hezbollah fighters into Syria to battle on behalf of the regime, and Hezbollah is thought to have helped train tens of thousands of pro-regime irregulars. In recent months the regime has managed to roll back rebel gains across the country, and Hezbollah forces earlier this week reportedly reached the southern city of Daraa, near the Syrian-Jordanian border. The Supreme Leader also allegedly instructed Nasrallah to target rebel supply routes.

[Photo: english.alarabiya.net]