Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that democracy was currently "not a priority" in Syria, when people in the Islamic republic's key ally are being killed.<br />Iran is the Assad regime's staunchest backer, providing extensive financial and military support to Syria, including military advisers and special forces fighting alongside pro-government forces on the frontlines.<br />Iran's Revolutionary Guards' elite Qods Force has also played a vital role in raising, arming and training the pro-regime National Defense Forces militia, which supplements the badly-overstretched regular Syrian forces.<br />Since 2013, Sunni jihadists including Al Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group have seized large swathes of land in Syria as well as in Iraq, Iran's other Shiite ally.
