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Assad Complained About Ankara's Opposition Support.. Causing Iranian-Turkish Tension
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Iran's Recent Attempts to Pressure Turkey to Stop Syrian Opposition Support Came Late and Failed to Save Strategic Ally
Two Iranian officials told Reuters that former Syrian regime president Bashar al-Assad expressed to Iranian Foreign Minister his displeasure with strong Turkish support for opposition forces in final offensive ending his rule.
Assad family's five-decade rule ended Sunday when Syrian regime president departed to Moscow, granting him political asylum.
Tehran backed Assad in extended Syrian conflict, with his overthrow widely considered major loss for Iran-led "resistance axis," political-military coalition opposing Israeli and American regional influence.
December 2 Damascus meeting gathered Assad and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, while former Al-Qaeda-linked HTS elements controlled major cities advancing toward capital.
According to senior Iranian official, Assad condemned during meeting what he described as Turkish fevered efforts overthrowing him. Official said Araqchi renewed Iran's support commitment and promised raising issue with Ankara.
Next day, Araqchi met Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan conveying Tehran's deep concern about Ankara's opposition advance support.
Another Iranian official explained "meeting dominated by tension, Iran expressed displeasure with Turkey's alignment with American-Israeli agendas and conveyed Assad's concerns," noting Ankara's Syrian opposition support and Western-Israeli interests cooperation targeting Iran's regional allies.
Official said Fidan blamed Assad for crisis, confirming his avoiding serious peace negotiations and repressive rule years form conflict roots.
Turkish Foreign Ministry source familiar with minister's talks said these weren't Fidan's exact statements, adding Araqchi carried no Assad messages to Ankara, without additional details.
Fidan told media in Doha Sunday Assad regime had "precious time" addressing pending Syria issues but failed, instead allowing "slow disintegration and regime collapse."
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Wednesday blamed United States and Israel for Assad's overthrow, indicating Syrian neighboring country's involvement without explicit naming, implicitly referencing Turkey.
Levant-Agencies
