Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Syrians to resist the new rebel-led government after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad, saying the uprising was orchestrated by the West.
Speaking in a Dec. 22 address, Khamenei said Syrians, especially the country’s youth, “should stand with a strong will against those who designed and those who implemented insecurity.”
Assad left the country in the late hours of December 8 after the terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies — some of which are linked to Turkey — overwhelmed government forces in a swift offensive.
The moment when Imam Khamenei entered the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah to meet with a large number of elegists and eulogists on December 22, 2024. pic.twitter.com/6P0hUotlSP
— Khamenei Media (@Khamenei_m) December 22, 2024
Since Assad was granted political asylum in Russia by President Vladimir Putin after more than five decades of rule by his family, HTS has since quickly installed an interim government, with its leader Riad al-Asaad saying he is confident the factions that helped oust Assad will unite as one force.
HTS and the transitional government have insisted that the rights of all Syrians will be protected, but Khamenei has said he believes the group affiliated with the Islamic Republic government will eventually prevail in Syria.
The ousting of Assad was seen by many as another blow to Tehran, which has seen Iran-backed regional groups — parts of the so-called axis of resistance — suffer major setbacks over the past 14 months.
Hamas, declared a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, was decimated by Israel, which launched a war against the group in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas fighters crossed into Israel in October 2023 and killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
That conflict has spread to Lebanon, home to Tehran-backed Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
The US has designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, while the EU has blacklisted its armed wing, but not the political party that holds a seat in the Lebanese parliament.
Israel severely weakened Hezbollah — killing its longtime leader and many of its top officials — after the group launched attacks on Israel that it said supported Hamas.
A US-brokered agreement to end hostilities in Lebanon entered into force last month.
(Vijesti.ba)
