In a message to his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Muallem, the Iranian foreign minister hailed the resistance of the Syrian people in the face of terrorism, stressing that the Arab country will continue to move forward on the path of maintaining unity, safeguarding its territorial integrity, and fighting terrorism in the region.

Highlighting the importance for pushing a political approach to contain emergence and growth of terrorism in the country, Zarif expressed the hope that “welfare”, “peace” and “security” will once again return to the country after a final victory against terrorists.

On Sunday, Syrian state television quoted a military source as saying the army had taken “complete control over the city of Palmyra”.

Palmyra, known as the “bride of the desert”, used to attract tens of thousands of tourists a year before the Syrian conflict started in 2011.

In May 2015, Daesh (also known as ISIL or ISIS) took the city and later demolished some of its best-known monuments.

Capturing the city is a major victory for President Assad’s government.

With Russian support, it has made steady gains in recent months against Daesh and other groups it is fighting.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with Takfiri terrorists, including Daesh, currently controlling parts of it, mostly in the east.

The Syrian conflict has killed at least 260,000 people, according to the UN, and more than half of Syria’s pre-war population of 22.4 million has been internally displaced or fled abroad.