If We Lose Syria We Lose Tehran: The Extremists Of Iran Will Have To Face Their Dues
05 March 2013By Tariq Alhomayed
The best description of Iran's relationship with
Syria, and the magnitude of Tehran's loss if the
tyrant of Damascus were to fall, was summed up by an
Iranian cleric, Mehdi Taeb, a man tasked with
combatting the soft war currently being directed
against Iran. He said, ?If we lose Syria we cannot
maintain Tehran . . . But if we lose the province of
Khuzestan [to the Al-Ahwaz Arabs] we could regain it
as long as we keep Syria.? Taeb not only said this,
but also that ?Syria is the 35th province and a
strategic province for us. If we were to attack an
enemy in order to keep Syria or Khuzestan, the
priority would be to keep Syria.? In light of these
statements, how can it be argued that what is
happening in Syria is a sectarian war by proxy, or
that the Syrian revolution is being orchestrated by
extremists? The truth is that it is a revolution of
the people who want to be free and rid themselves of
the clutches of Iranian occupation, which has been a
feature throughout the Assad era. These blunt
statements, which seem to have been made as a result
of the shock of what is happening on the ground in
Syria, show the predicament of the Iranian project in
the region, and not only in Syria. The fall of Assad
would be the largest and most severe blow to be dealt
to the Iranian project, and the concept of exporting
the Khomeini revolution, and it would also mean that
Iranian extremists would have to face up to the
internal dues they have long evaded.
Remarkably, Taeb not only illustrated the importance
of Syria for his country; he went further than that
and spoke openly about the 60,000-strong forces
overseen by Iran in Syria, saying, ?The Syrian regime
has an army, but it lacks the ability to conduct a war
in Syrian cities. Therefore the Iranian government
proposed to formulate an urban warfare force,
consisting of 60,000 combat troops, to take over the
war on the streets from the Syrian army.? This figure
exceeds what was revealed recently about the number of
troops supervised by Iran in Syria, which was said to
have been closer to 50,000, and thus Taeb's statements
not only reveal the importance of Syria to Iran, they
also reveal the extent of Iranian involvement in the
Syrian bloodshed. Furthermore, they tell us that if we
do not deal with the Syrian issue seriously, with
international efforts, then this Iranian interference
will pass by unchecked, and this means more extremism
and sectarian conflict in the future, and this is a
danger to the region as a whole.
These Iranian statements and others must not lead us
to the conclusion that Iran should be given an
official role in Syria, rather they should lead to
international action to overthrow Bashar Assad and
bring about his inevitable downfall, striking the
Iranian expansionist project in the region. It is no
exaggeration to say that the fall of Assad will serve
as the first serious step towards halting Iran's
nuclear project. The fall of Assad does not
necessarily mean the fall of Iran, but it means the
Mullahs would return to their natural borders within
Tehran, and this is what we need. Then the extremists
of Iran will have to face their dues in the Iranian
domestic scene, but that is their story. Our story is
about a region that has been stricken by Iran and its
interventions, its fifth column operating among us,
and its men deployed in Syria who will remain silent
as usual and not say a word about the Mehdi Taeb's
remarks.
Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq
Al-Awsat, the youngest person to be appointed that
position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from
King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also
completed his Introductory courses towards a Master's
degree from George Washington University in Washington
D.C. He is based in London.
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