Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said the defense agreement between Tehran and Damascus to protect each other against common threats is still valid, but Iran has not extended any physical aid to Syria to help its ally confront terrorist groups in the country. "The (defense) agreement remains valid but Syria has not made any demand from Iran in this regard," Vahidi said, speaking to reporters at the end of a cabinet meeting here in Tehran on Wednesday. "Of course" the minister stated "Syria is facing terrorist threats and is confronting the problem well by itself." Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. The alliance between Iran and Syria was bolstered in 2006, when the two countries signed an agreement on June 15, 2006 for military cooperation against the "common threat" presented by the "Israeli" occupying regime and the US.