Iran Extends Support to Syria to Fight Terrorist Groups

Iran expressed its full support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following the surprise attack launched by terrorist groups in the country’s north. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called for greater unity among the countries in the region to fight against such terror attacks, calling them a menace to regional security.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Damascus on Sunday, December 1 and met President Bashar al-Assad extending his country’s support. He said that Syria has been able to defeat the terrorist groups in the past during much worse conditions and Iran was sure that it would be able to overcome this current situation as well.

On Sunday, during a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the Iranian president expressed concern that the recent outbreak of violence in Syria will further fuel instability in the region and divert attention from resolving the situation in Gaza. “Under the circumstances that the region was moving towards relative peace following the establishment of a ceasefire in Lebanon and attention was focused on Gaza, recent events in Syria raised serious concerns about regional stability,” he said.

Al-Sudani echoed Pezeshkian and announced that his country is ready to help Syria in defeating the terrorist groups and called other countries in the region to join the effort.

The groups leading the current offensive in northwestern Syria are organized as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS previously known as Al-Nusra front) and have controlled Syria’s Idlib province for over a decade now. They launched a surprise attack against the government controlled Aleppo on Wednesday, November 27 capturing the city and some areas around it by Friday and forcing the government forces to retreat.

Aleppo is Syria’s second largest city, home to over two million people, and was freed from the rebel control in 2016 after years of occupation following the outbreak of war in the country in 2011. The liberation of Aleppo was achieved with the active support of the Iranians and Russians.

The fall of Aleppo this past week has raised grave concerns for the fate of millions of people in the region and the country’s reconstruction efforts after over a decade of war.

Alleging that fresh troubles in Syria were a result of direct foreign intervention, Pezeshkian claimed that “such incidents are part of vicious plots by the Zionist regime to spread insecurity, disputes and conflict inside Islamic countries.”

Iran alleges coordination between HTS, Israel and US

Addressing a weekly press conference on Monday, Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman of the Iranian foreign ministry claimed that Israel and the US have supported the terrorist groups in Syria in order to derail the regional effort of peace in Gaza.

“Over the past 14 months, the zionist regime has increased its attacks on Syria in order to damage Syria’s capabilities and equipment. The genocide in Gaza and aggression in Lebanon have paved the way for terrorist groups to prepare in different regions in Syria,” he said while claiming that there are public statements by US officials which prove that there is a coordination between the terrorist groups, the US, and Israel.

Araghchi traveled to Turkey after Damascus where he too claimed that the “takfiri groups” are working in collaboration with the US and Israel and “share the same goal.” He claimed that his country makes no distinction between “takfiri terrorists” and the Israeli regime.

“We believe that following the Israeli regime’s failures [in Gaza and Lebanon], the enemy is trying to implement its sinister goals of spreading insecurity in the region via these same terrorist groups,” he emphasized.

Talking about Araghchi’s visit to Ankara to meet Turkish officials amidst the speculations about Turkey’s role in the attacks launched by HTS, Baghaei insisted that it is still a part of Astana process along with Iran and Russia and his country will continue to explore all possible diplomatic ways to restore peace in Syria.