Iran said on Monday that it plans to keep military “advisors” in Syria after its ally’s second city Aleppo was overrun by opposition fighters in a surprise offensive.

Axar.az reports that citing AFP, Tehran has been a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the civil war that broke out in 2011, sending thousands of fighters to Syria.

“We entered Syria many years ago at the official invitation of the Syrian government, when the Syrian people faced the threat of terrorism,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.

“Our military advisors were present in Syria, and they are still present” and would remain in the country “in accordance with the wishes” of its government, he told a news conference in Tehran.

Baghaei did not specify whether or not Iran would be increasing its forces in Syria in the wake of the lightning opposition offensive.

His remarks come a day after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with al-Assad in Damascus to show support for the Syrian president.