Khamenei says US, Israel were behind fall of Syrian regime, also alludes to Turkey
Iranian leader, in first remarks about Syria since sudden ouster of ally Assad, says Iran itself not weakened by rebel takeover, seeks to keep ‘friendly relations’ with country
The Times of Israel
Dec 11, 2024
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks in Tehran, December 11, 2024.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday blamed Israel and the United States for the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, accusing the countries of planning the dictator’s collapse, and vowing that the so-called Axis of Resistance, of which Assad’s government was a part, will only grow stronger moving forward.
“There should be no doubt that what happened in Syria was plotted in the command rooms of the United States and Israel. We have evidence for this,” the Shiite cleric said, in remarks quoted by state media.
The remarks, delivered to a crowd of supporters, were Khamenei’s first public comments on Syria since the dramatic toppling of the Assad regime on Sunday by a jihadist-led coalition of rebel groups, following a two-week lightning offensive that broke a years-long stalemate after over a decade of civil war.
“One of the neighboring countries of Syria also played a role,” he added, in an apparent reference to Turkey, “but the primary planners are the US and the Zionist regime.”
Turkish officials have strongly rejected claims of involvement in the anti-government offensive. Analysts say, however, that the rebel offensive would have been impossible without a green light from Turkey.
Prior to Khamenei’s remarks, Iran’s Vice President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif was more explicit, saying Tuesday that “Turkey’s role in this matter is very clear,” in remarks quoted by Iran International.
According to Khamenei, different “invaders” in Syria are pursuing different aims.
“Their goals are different. Some of them are seeking to seize the lands of northern or southern Syria. America is seeking to strengthen its position in the region,” he said.
Turkey has forces in northern Syria, while in the south the Israeli army has sent troops into a buffer zone east of the Golan Heights. Khamenei said the US, which also has some troops in Syria aiding Kurdish forces, will ultimately be driven out by the so-called Axis of Resistance.
In video of his speech posted to social media, audience members in the sex-segregated crowd could be seen raising their fists and shouting, “Death to America! Death to Israel!”
The toppled Assad, who has since fled to Moscow, was a crucial ally of Iran, and Syria was a central throughway for the Iranian supply of weapons to its proxy forces throughout the region.
One of those proxies is Hezbollah in Lebanon, with which Israel entered a shaky ceasefire last month following more than a year of daily attacks by the terror group, in support of its ally Hamas in Gaza, also backed by Iran, which launched a deadly cross-border onslaught in Israel last year, starting the ongoing war.
In his speech, Khamenei claimed Hezbollah had delivered a “harsh slap” to Israel, forcing the Jewish state into the ceasefire.
The agreement, reached about two months into an Israeli ground operation and some three months into a larger Israeli offensive against the group, came after thousands of Hezbollah’s fighters were killed, along with almost all of its senior leadership, and most of its weapons were destroyed.
Hezbollah’s weakness amid its fight against Israel has been cited as one of the reasons for the success of the Syrian rebels, a coalition of groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a Sunni jihadist group that began as an offshoot of al-Qaeda.
In addition to fighting the Assad regime, HTS has also fought with US-backed, Kurdish-led forces elsewhere in Syria.
Despite the factional differences between Iran and the rebel groups, Khamenei said in a statement prior to his remarks that Iran expects to continue “friendly” relations with Syria, saying, “Iran and Syria have a long history, and we expect our friendly relationship to continue.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the new government in Syria that “if this regime allows Iran to reestablish itself in Syria, or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah, or attacks us, we will respond forcefully and we will exact a heavy price from it.”
Khamenei said Wednesday it was “ignorant” to believe that “when the resistance becomes weak, Islamic Iran will also become weak,” saying that with the help of God, “Iran is strong and powerful and will only grow more powerful.”
He denied, however, that any real damage could be done to the “resistance” anyway, saying, “the more you push, the stronger it becomes,” and vowing, “the domain of resistance will cover the entire region, more than before.”
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