29 Mar 2024
Saturday 9 January 2016 - 17:25
Story Code : 196044

Why Syria is Significant for Iran

Alwaght- Iran and Syria as strategic allies have much in common in terms of regional interests, as they adopt a resistant agenda not favorable to the West and its allies in the region.Syria is of high significance for the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Arab country was one of the few countries which have recognized the Islamic Republic following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, as it was one of the few Arab states which have not supported the regime of Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, in the imposed 1980 Iraq's war on Iran. In other words, since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the Syrian government has persistently followed a close and cooperative policy in its relations with Iran. Another aspect of Syrias importance for Iran is linked to Damascus adoption of a counter-Israeli pathway, a policy which strategically put Syria as part of the Axis of Resistance beside Iran, Lebanons Hezbollah and the Palestinian movement Hamas in Gaza Strip. Damascus has been Tehrans strategic ally during the past 34 years. The Iranian officials have officially asserted that it was only through a political mechanism that the crisis in Syria could be settled. The fall of the President Bashar al-Assads government could seriously damage the strategic alliance of Iran and Syria, and very likely it would lead to the collapse of the resistant axis, as it, also, quite certainly increase the security threats faced by Iran in the region. The toppling of President Assad would irreparably hit the Tehran-Damascus-Beirut axis, because Syria represents the backbone of a political and geographical structure linking Iran, as a leading post, to its representatives in the region which include Hezbollah and the Palestinian liberation organizations.
All in all, the downfall of Assads government could bring forth security repercussions for the strategic Axis of Resistance as follows:


1. Change of balance of regional threats against Iran.Some of the Syria's political opposition figures have made it clear that should Bashar al-Assad leaves the power, the strategic Iran-Syria ties would not continue. Therefore, once these opposition groups rise to power, the new Syrian government would cut off backing of Iran and Hezbollahs activities in the region.


2. Irans strategic isolation in the region.With a regard to its economic and security policies in its new strategy which leads to increased cooperation with the US, the Arab states and the international community, the possible new Syrian government could further push Iran in to Isolation and contribute to Washingtons efforts which aim at limiting Irans choices.


3. Pressing Iran over Its nuclear program.Having in mind that Iran is making attempts to expand its hegemony regionally and spread its Islamic Revolution ideology across the region, a harming of its regional alliance would mean, for its adversaries, as creation of stability in the region. This is a benefit for the West, and hitting Irans regional coalition would shore up a confrontation of its nuclear program.


The West has accused Iran of sending weapons to Syria and so breaking the arms embargo imposed on Damascus. According to some out coming reports, Iran has dispatched to Syria hundreds of forces belonging to Quds Force of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including 150 officers, and some of Hezbollahs members. The chief commander of the IRGC, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, has openly announced that he has deployed to Syria some of his top officers for advisory, and not for combat, missions.


According to the American officials, the Europeans and the Syrian opposition members, Iran is providing the Syrian government with items ranging from the financial supports, weapons and ammunitions and other arms kinds to technological devices especially designed to control web communications as well as mobile contacts and anti-riot equipment offering backup to the Syrian government to suppress the insurgency. Concerning Irans support of Assads government, it must be noted that the Islamic Republic itself has emerged out of a popular revolution with a religious and human basis, and the Arab worlds developments are well similar to the Iranian revolution. Thereby, the Islamic Republic should definitely react to the developments in Syria and make efforts to contain the violence.


Generally, Irans policy includes two major plans in dealing with the Syrian crisis: The first scenario is that Iran is trying to firmly support President Assad in the face of his domestic and regional adversaries. In the second scenario, once Assad is toppled, Iran would eye preventing rise of a fundamental Sunni government in Damascus. The advent of such government in Syria would undermine Irans position in its strategic confrontation with Saudi Arabia, the US strategic ally in West Asia region.


The Islamic Republic of Iran has not viewed the preliminary protests in Syria as acts of an Islamic and popular movement; rather, it has highlighted a foreign role, including the US, the Israeli regime and Saudi Arabia, in inflaming the riots in Syria. Iran sees the Saudi, Turkish and Western stances as signaling a great conspiracy set up against Syria and the Axis of Resistance. As the Iranian authorities believe, Saudi regime, through funding the Salafi militants, and Turkey, through its coordination with the US, are intending overthrowing the Syrian government, which plays as a linking ring between the Islamic Republic and the resistance movements in the region, and thus terminating a strategic 30-year-old alliance of Tehran-Damascus.


Also, it should be noted that Syrias crisis has deteriorated considerably the Iranian and Saudi relations in the region, in a way that it has been unprecedented in the history of the two countries for a Saudi foreign minister to speak out against Irans global and regional policies with such an assertive and hostile tone and scale of accusations.


Nevertheless, after over four and a half years of eruption of crisis in Syria, all of the regional and international parties are admitting the significance of Irans presence in any meeting which aims at finding a solution for the countrys devastating crisis. This acceptance is not shared by Saudi Arabia which seems unpleased about Irans attending Syria peace conferences, and Tehran-Riyadh ties saw a deterioration for a couple of additional reasons including the Saudis' aggression on Yemen and also Hajjs Mina incident. The decision makers in Iran are convinced that cooperation with President Assad and supporting him stand as one of the most significant factors contributing to the Islamic Republics pushing ahead its political security and political agenda in West Asia.


In viewpoint of many Iranian politicians, Irans foreign policy, with the aim of adopting an active and influential policy in West Asia region has invested such a heavy scale on the Syrian government, could not allow easily losing this strategic country, because should Assads government collapses, the policies followed by the resistant axis could be exposed to perils.


In general, Iran, while respecting the rightful and genuine demands of the Syrians, runs counter to any foreign interventions in to the Syrian internal developments. Tehran has issued the necessary warnings to the regional players about the consequences. For Tehran, the Libyan experience was a bitter outcome of intervention of NATO as a foreign force. And finally it must be acknowledged that the Islamic Republic of Iran presently holds the upper hand in the Syrian developments. The anti-ISIS coalition recently launched by Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah, has multiplied Irans role in the regional developments, proving to the other powers that Iran holds an essential role in settling Syrias crisis.


By AlWaght



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