An Iranian weightlifter who rose to Internet stardom via social media announced this week he plans to travel to Syria to fight the Islamic State alongside the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Sajad Gharibi, nicknamed “the Iranian Hulk,” revealed his plan to join other Iranian forces fighting in Syria in a video clip to his 148,000 Instagram followers. His shockingly huge physique and massive muscles earned the professional weightlifter the moniker of the American comic book superhero.
Gharibi has become a popular figure among Iranians after he started posting Instagram pictures and video clips of himself flexing and lifting weights.
But the recent announcement from the 24-year-old behemoth, who is also known as “the Persian Hercules,” brings renewed attention to Iran’s ongoing involvement in Syria. Tehran has supplied aid to the Assad regime and dispatched to the battlefront fighters from its elite Revolutionary Guards and Shiite proxy militias.
“I have always said and will say that I will be a soldier for my country,” says Gharibi. He also mentions how he looks up to Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force, a special forces unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. And he says he plans to start training after Ramadan for two to three years before presumably heading to Syria — a telling recognition of how intractable Syria’s conflict may be. The full video is available on Gharibi’s Telegram channel.
While it’s no secret that Iran has been involved in Syria’s ongoing civil war, Iranian officials have previously stayed relatively quiet about the country’s military presence in the war-torn country.
However, as more Iranian troops and Revolutionary Guard commanders have been killed, it has become more common for Iranian media to discuss the country’s role in the Syrian war. Over the years, Iran has been a key ally for Assad’s government and has provided it with financial and military backing.