Iran denies interference in Syria
With tensions rising in Syria, Iran has denied allegations of interference. Reuters reported on December 24, that the newly appointed Foreign Minister posted on X calling for Iran to stay out of Syrian politics and “respect the will of the Syrian people and Syria’s sovereignty and security”.
The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called on the Syrian youth to “stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity”. He also forecast that the Syrian youth resistance movement would reassert itself within a year to challenge the newly established government run by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who removed Assad from power on December 8.
Read: Bashar al-Assad toppled in Syria
Tehran was a longstanding supporter of the Assad regime in Syria, incorporating it into its “Axis of Resistance” which also includes the Iranian-proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. During the Syrian Civil War Iran spent billions of dollars and deployed thousands of its troops to prop up the Syrian regime. Whilst the regime was stable, it was remarkably brittle with Assad relying entirely on Iranian and Russian support. With Russia busy in its war with Ukraine, and Iran’s Hezbollah decimated in its war with Israel, HTS effectively walked into Damascus and removed the regime. Iran lost its ally in the Levant.
Since then, it has said that the overthrow of the regime was “led by America, the Zionist entity, and the regional countries that have been manipulated”, despite HTS being a proscribed terrorist organisation in the US, UK, UN, and EU. Tehran has stated therefore that the Syrian people “will not remain silent in the face of foreign occupation and aggression” or “the tyranny of an internal group.” Accusations have since been levelled against Iran of inciting sectarian strife in Syria to undermine the government.
Read: Syria: Sharaa reaffirms commitment to protect minorities
It first appeared that the new government were establishing control over the country peacefully, calling for an end to sectarian violence and declaring protection for those of all religious and ethnic groups. However, on December 26, 2024, in the deadliest attack since HTS took power, 14 police officers were killed during a security crackdown in Tartous. The region is dominated by the Alawite sect that Assad belongs to and relied on for support. The new security forces launched the Tartous operation to “control security, stability, and civil peace, and to pursue the remnants of Assad’s militias in the woods and hills”.
Reuters
