Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed hope that “conflict and violence” in Syria would end soon and Syrian people would soon be able to decide their fate without any external interference. Pezeshkian was speaking during a cabinet meeting a day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad resigned and armed opposition groups took over the government.
Iran’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Sunday, December 8 claiming “Islamic Republic of Iran closely monitors developments in Syria and the region and will adopt appropriate approaches and positions while taking into account the behaviour and performance of influential players in the Syrian political and security scene.”
In the last decade, Iran was one of the closest allies of al-Assad, the former president who fled the country on Sunday. Since then opposition militant groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have entered Damascus and taken over control of the government in the country, while al-Assad has sought refuge in Moscow.
HTS is a declared terrorist organization in various countries, including in the US, due to its links with Al-Qaeda.
Because of the closeness of Assad and Iran and the latter’s military assistance to Syria in the fight against the opposition forces, the future of the relations between both the countries is uncertain at the moment.
The leader of the HTS Mohammed al-Julani, backed allegedly by international forces such as Turkiyë, the US, and Israel, which are hostile to Iran, has also reportedly given statements opposed to alleged Iranian influence in the country. Last month, reports emerged that HTS forces stormed the Iranian consulate in Aleppo.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday regarding the future of Iran-Syria relations, that it all depends on the policies adopted by the HTS led militants groups towards Iran.
He also clarified that Iranian forces were in Syria only to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group and once they were defeated Iran military’s role in Syria ended. Afterwards, Iranian presence in Syria was only limited to supporting the resistance forces in the region.
Araghchi asserted that Iran never thought it necessary to send its armed forces to defend the country [after the current assault led by HTS began in late November] as “this was related to the internal matters of Syria, the government’s relationship with the opposition groups and the people of the country,” ISNA reported.
Resistance will not be affected
Araghchi expressed concern about Israel’s possible exploitation of the situation in the country given the widespread speculations about its possible role in the overthrow of Assad by providing support to the HTS forces in their war against the Syrian government.
Araghchi acknowledged Syria’s important contribution in the Axis of Resistance and the fight against the Israeli aggression and its support to the Palestinian cause but denied that Assad’s fall will impact the future of resistance and specifically Hezbollah. He even claimed that Hezbollah has enough munitions, equipment, and facilities to last for the next couple of years at least, claiming resistance is “a philosophy rooted in steadfastness and will endure independently of geographical constraints,” Tehran Times reported.
Ever since the HTS took control over Damascus, Israel has increased its bombing campaign inside Syria and also invaded the buffer zone separating the occupied Golan Heights and Syria in complete violation of the existing understandings and international law.
Araghchi expressed apprehensions that the present conflict in Syria and Israeli aggression against the country may spread chaos in the region, particularly affecting Iraq. Without naming any country specifically, he warned of a Libya-like situation in Syria. He mentioned that in Libya and Sudan wars between factions supported by different countries in the region have been going on for years now without any real resolution emerging on the horizon. Araghchi expressed apprehension that divergent interests of the countries in the region may affect the peace process in Syria and prolong the war.
The foreign minister defended the “Astana process” and claimed it was primarily related to a political solution to the crisis in Syria through dialogue and reforms. According to the reports, the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran met in Qatari capital Doha a day before Assad’s departure.
The Astana process was established as a peace process in Syria with the involvement of four countries; Syria, Turkey, Iran and Russia to find a political solution to the war in Syria which began in 2011.
Iran is expected to further clarify its position on Syria following a scheduled address of Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Wednesday.
