Alwaght- After years of cautious calm in Syria, the surprise offensive of various terrorist groups in the northwest of the country and their rapid advances to Aleppo and Hama provinces and capture of Aleppo have brought about a complicated situation for the Syrian government, with opposition media raising the possibility of return of the dark days of the civil war.
As the Syria developments unfolded fast, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flew to Damascus and then Ankara.
To discuss the aims of the visit and the fresh Syrian developmens and the outlook for the burgeoning crisis, Alwaght has talked to Sayyed Hadi Afghahi, an Iranian expert of West Asia affairs.
Araghchi's visit meant to fill Syrian hands to counter crisis
Mr Afghahi first elaborated on the aims and significance of this visit by the top Iranian diplomat to Syria. He said that Araghchi visited Syria about a month ago and met with his counterpart, parliament speaker, and President Bashar al-Assad and held constructive talks with them. Then Iranian defense minister visited Damascus, signaling that the situation was not normal and was evaluated as dangerous. And recently Ali Larijani, the senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, delivered a message to the Syrian president from the the Leader. This traffic of visits showed that there was a feeling of a forthcoming danger. They predicted that the Israeli regime will open a front to cut off aid and arms delivery to Lebanon and Hezbollah through Syria . This measure is aimed at put strains on al-Assad to cut off aids and minimize the relations with Hezbollah. Unfortunately, this prediction happened and the surprise was so fast.
Mr Afghahi added that the situation is highly sensitive and there must be a fast action. We know that the Syrian armed forces have been at war against terrorism since 2011. After end of war, the terrorists stayed in Idlib and the US occupied the whole Eastern Euphrates. This is aside from the occasional attacks of Israeli regime. So, we should say that the Syrian government position in Aleppo is endangered and and over the past five days, 2 to 3 provinces came under threat. Actually, it is a sensitive stage. The meetings and coordinations should be made fast and not allow the "field" to collapse. The field is the backer to diplomacy. This is a view of Araghchi who believes that the stronger you are on the battlefield, the upper hand you have in diplomacy and your hands are open to impose your demands and conditions on the opposite side. Therefore, this visit is to check the field situation and the views of the Syrians and al-Assad himself and their demands for assistance. Also, the foreign minister was expected to review the reports of Iranian ambassador, as well as military and security officials, in Syria.
Terrorist attacks come under Turkish supervision; Ankara violated Astana peace process
Commenting on the reason behind Ankara visit by the Iranian FM, Mr Afghahi maintained that after Syria visit, Araghchi immediately flew to Turkey because Ankara in 2020 promised to help ceasefire in Syria and prevent terrorist advances inside Syrian territory. In Aleppo case, the top side to blame is Turkey. It violated its signature of Astana Agreement. The second point is that all the terrorists were either in Turkey or in the Turkish-occupied Syrian territory. Turkey administers these regions. It occupies Aleppo and Idlib and manages the armed terrorists. It is a joke that Ankara claims it was not aware of the terrorist offensive and was not involved. We do not know hypocrisy higher than this. These remarks are dirty words by the Turkish officials and an insult to people's intelligence because all of these terrorists are based in Turkey. Their training, their logistics, their equipment, and their families are in Turkey.
Mr Afghahi added that there are 10 armed terrorist groups, all of which are under Turkish surveillance, and the Turkish government is tapping all of their mobile phones and monitoring all of their movements. Even the entry of Ukrainian forces and their drones has taken place through Turkey. Therefore, Iran is deeply concerned and condemns this audacious policy of Turkey. An excuse of Ankara for intervention in Syria is that it claims to have made its efforts and wanted to resolve this crisis through political dialogue but failed. Here, a question arises for Erdogan: How do you want to meet al-Assad and talk with him while you occupy part of his country? Erdogan needs to show his good will through retreat from the occupied Syrian regions or restrict or disarm the terrorists under a Russian-Iranian-Turkish committee, even without presence of Syria. The important point is that under occupation, no negotiations are valid. Turkey, Israeli regime, and the US will certainly fail in this plot. The hostile policies and violations by Turkey against Syria will definitely negatively refect inside the Turkish society.
Cooperation with Russia on anti-terror fight continues
Concluding the interview, Mr Afghahi rejected the claims about underperformance of Russia as a strategic ally to Syria in dealing with the recent developments, adding that there has been a 60-year pact for military and security cooperation between the two countries. They recently updated it. During the Soviet rule, Russian forces operated Tartus military base in Syria. When Syrian crisis started in 2011, Hmeimim was added as a new base of Russian presence. However, Russia cut its forces in Syria when Ukraine war and NATO confrontation began. Moscow transferred part of its forces to Ukraine from Syrian bases. But with Trump reelection, Russia will boost its presence in Syria again. The opposite media have launched a propaganda campaign and are seeking to undermine the Resistance and anti-terror camps. The Russian cooperation with Iran as a staunch ally of Syria serves the anti-terror fight.
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