Iran’s power undiminished after Assad’s fall: IRGC chief
The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic had not been weakened following the fall of Syrian government.
“We have not been weakened and Iran’s power has not diminished,” Hossein Salami was quoted as saying at a closed parliamentary session.
Briefing reporters after the session, the spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Ebrahim Rezaei, said the IRGC chief provided an in-depth analysis of the status quo in West Asia, stating, “Our sphere of power and influence has not shrunk, and our military might has not suffered a setback at all.”
Salami also stressed that attempts aimed at the downfall of the Israeli regime remain high on the Islamic Republic’s agenda, Rezaei added.
The IRGC chief also underscored that forces within the Axis of Resistance have gained self-sufficiency in developing various types of munitions and military hardware, the Iranian legislator pointed out.
Iran had been one of the main supporters of the former Syrian government against terrorists since the beginning of a foreign-backed war in the Arab country in 2011.
Syrian government collapsed after days of surprise attacks by militants who finally took over the capital Damascus on Sunday, which led to end of decades of rule by the deposed president Bashar al-Assad and his family in the country.
Iran’s government spokesperson said on Tuesday that Tehran is closely watching developments in Syria and is eagerly awaiting to see the “behavior and performance” of the opposition groups before deciding on an approach to Syria.
“Their distance from the Zionist regime is one of the factors that is important to us,” Fatemeh Mohajerani told reporters during a weekly media conference.
She said Iran invested money and arms in Syria in line with its “national interests,” and that the Assad government collapsed because the ousted president failed to talk with his own people.
Following Assad’s fall from power, Iran’s foreign ministry called for a national dialogue to form an inclusive government representing all segments of the Syrian society.