Iran vows continued support for Syria after rebel advances in Aleppo

Azadeh Akbari
Azadeh Akbari

Contributor

A Syrian government soldier gestures under the Syrian national flag near a general view of eastern Aleppo after they took control of al-Sakhour neigbourhood in Aleppo, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on November 28, 2016.
A Syrian government soldier gestures under the Syrian national flag near a general view of eastern Aleppo after they took control of al-Sakhour neigbourhood in Aleppo, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on November 28, 2016.

Iran conveyed its continued support for the Syrian government on Friday as rebel fighters entered Syria's second-largest city Aleppo for the first time since it was recaptured by government forces in 2016.

A fresh ceasefire in neighboring Lebanon between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel could make Syria, Tehran's main ally in the Arab world, a more important theater in the Islamic Republic's long confrontation with the Jewish state.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call with his Syrian counterpart Bassam Sabbagh, reaffirmed Tehran’s backing for the Syrian government, saying it stands by the country in combating what he called terrorism, according to a statement from Iran’s foreign ministry on Friday.

Araghchi described the resurgence of Syrian rebels’ activities in the country as part of a US-Zionist scheme while Sabbagh said Syria was determined to “thwart the sinister plans of terrorists and their supporters”.

Iran's ambassador to Damascus Mojtaba Amani also said Friday that Tehran has a military presence in Syria and, along with Russia and the "Resistance" groups, will continue to support the Assad government against armed opposition groups.

The Syrian army is engaged in clashes with armed groups opposing Assad and has been able to contain them "to some extent", said Amani.

In a separate statement, Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Islamic Republic and its allied groups in the region will continue to stand with the Syrian government.

"After defeating the Zionist regime, [we] will continue to stand, as always, with the Syrian government," he said in a post on X, adding that the new movements of Syrian rebels are part of the designs of the United States and Israel.

Iran has played a major role in the Syrian civil war, aligning itself with President Bashar al-Assad's government against various opposition groups since the conflict began in 2011.

Tehran provided substantial military support, including advisors, ground troops, and militia fighters from across the region, helping Assad win back much of the territory his forces had lost.

On Wednesday, Syria’s armed opposition factions, including the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - designated a terrorist organization by the United States - launched an incursion on Wednesday into a dozen towns and villages in the northwest Aleppo province against forces backed by Bashar al-Assad and allies.

The rebel forces pierced the outskirts of Aleppo, HTS declared in a statement and anti-government monitors said.

On Friday, Russian and Syrian air forces carried out 23 airstrikes on the Idlib region, targeting armed groups opposing Bashar al-Assad, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Earlier on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing sources from both the Syrian military and rebel groups, that Russian and Syrian warplanes targeted rebel-controlled areas near the Turkish border in an effort to push back insurgents.

27 civilians, including eight children, have been killed in the fighting since the rebels incursion into northwest Syria, Reuters reported Friday quoting United Nation’s Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, David Carden.