Iran ex-president hints at divisions over support for Assad

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rafsanjani loses postComments by a former Iranian president and pillar of the country’s political establishment have shone a light on possible disagreements within the country’s elite over its support for President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.

In a hotly disputed statement posted on the internet, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran’s former president, accused Mr Assad’s government of using chemical weapons against the Syrian people in what analysts saw as a warning to the government to rethink its support for its main Arab ally.

“God bless the people of Syria . . . they were subjected to chemical weapons by their own government and now they have to expect a foreign invasion,” Mr Rafsanjani, who heads the powerful Expediency Council, said last week at an event in the northern province of Mazandaran.

The remarks, quoted by the semi-official ILNA news agency, sparked an uproar in Iran, where officials have accused Mr Assad’s opponents of being behind the attack. They were quickly scrubbed from the news website. Later, Marzieh Afkham, Iran’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, denied the comments, saying they were “distorted”.

But an audio recording that appeared on Tuesday confirmed Mr Rafsanjani’s accusation that the Assad regime had launched chemical attacks against the Syrian people, a view shared by the US, Britain and France.

Mr Rafsanjani’s speech also referred to thousands of Syrians who had been thrown into prison, painting a dire picture of human rights under the Assad regime and reflecting what some say is widespread Iranian sympathy for the Syrian uprising against Mr Assad.

“Mr Rafsanjani has said what millions of Iranians believe in their heart but they either do not dare to express it or they face censorship [by Iran’s regime],” said Sadegh Zibakalam, a reform-minded political scientist.

“This is that there is no difference between this repressive regime [Assad] and that of [former president] Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, [the late dictator] Muammer Gaddafi in Libya and the Bahraini and Saudi Arabian regimes.”

Despite Mr Rafsanjani’s comments, many Iranians remain sceptical that Mr Assad was responsible for the alleged chemical attack in eastern Damascus on August 21 and support the official view that armed opponents of the Syrian regime, including the Saudi and western-backed rebels, were behind it.

But Mr Zibakalam said “not only millions of Iranians” but also officials such as newly elected President Hassan Rouhani and his foreign minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif “welcomed Mr Hashemi’s remarks inside their hearts”.

Iranians suffered immensely under Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons attacks in the 1980s and continue to be traumatised by the inaction of the international community in their aftermath.

Implicit in Mr Rafsanjani’s comments, analysts suggest, was the warning that Mr Rouhani’s new government should no longer support the Assad regime unconditionally and should reconsider support that is said to include financial help and military advice as well as the military support of Iran’s staunch ally in the Levant, Hizbollah.

Though there has been little sign of change in Iran’s support for Syria and the Assad regime is still seen by Tehran as a critical link in its effort to increase its influence in the Arab world, Mr Rouhani’s government is keen to break the deadlock in talks with the six big powers over the nuclear programme, and appears to have toned down its rhetoric on Syria and avoided direct involvement in the conflict.

Despite some bellicose rhetoric by military officials, most remarks on Syria appear cautious and carefully calibrated, warning, for example, that a US attack on Syria would further damage its interests in the region.

“Iran has no longer put all its eggs in Assad’s basket,” said a reform-minded university professor of international relations who asked not to be named. “It is in the country’s best interest for the new government to find an alternative to him.”

Financial Times

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6 responses to “Iran ex-president hints at divisions over support for Assad”

  1. Supporting Assad too much has dragged Iranians butt in to deper doo doo . Should I stay or should I go situation. This situations of today was beyond imagination on 2011 when Iran Assad and Hezbushaitan thought that they can kill the uprising via intimidation and murder. The situation escalated and it is now out of control. The huge economic loss will make Iran down to its knee. These crooks are caught by the balls and now they cant go forward nor they can reverse the situation. So go forward and die. You asked for it.

  2. Supporting Assad too much has dragged Iranians butt in to deper doo doo . Should I stay or should I go situation. This situations of today was beyond imagination on 2011 when Iran Assad and Hezbushaitan thought that they can kill the uprising via intimidation and murder. The situation escalated and it is now out of control. The huge economic loss will make Iran down to its knee. These crooks are caught by the balls and now they cant go forward nor they can reverse the situation. So go forward and die. You asked for it.

  3. Throwing mud at each other happens when the plan go wrong and start backfiring. Every thing was going smooth and sometimes even victory (Al-Queser where the rebel ran out of ammo and fled) came near but then the attempt to capture Homs was disrupted with a big bang of ammo dump explosion. Many tanks are becoming victim of Russian Missile. Now among those patrons disagreement starts …I told you this and you didnt do it, No its you who mislead us ,we told you this and you disagreed and now we pay the price because of you! Bla Bla Bla. Disagreement within a coalition is a sign of demise.

  4. Throwing mud at each other happens when the plan go wrong and start backfiring. Every thing was going smooth and sometimes even victory (Al-Queser where the rebel ran out of ammo and fled) came near but then the attempt to capture Homs was disrupted with a big bang of ammo dump explosion. Many tanks are becoming victim of Russian Missile. Now among those patrons disagreement starts …I told you this and you didnt do it, No its you who mislead us ,we told you this and you disagreed and now we pay the price because of you! Bla Bla Bla. Disagreement within a coalition is a sign of demise.

  5. nagy_michael2 Avatar
    nagy_michael2

    This man is pragmatic and he has been trying to seek peace and prosperity for Iran. Instead of these extremists muallahs wants the whole pie. well I guess Iran and Hezbollah will eventually get what they deserve. I know Iran has been extremely smart about attacking many targets and have developed good weapons. Hezbollah has a lot of experience but in the end the Air power and ships and many smart missiles will get the best of them and shake the foundations from underneath them. Iran been talking big and uses surrogates to attack their enemies. But eventually they have to come face to face with the western allies and US on top of them. The U.S. Will not be defeated even if Russia and China get involved. I am not a supporter of Israel but Israel will burn the Russian army with nuclear weapons and their corpses will lie for 7 years before the area get cleaned and fumigated and whatever necessary means to remove the pollutions. This is Written and I know some will ask where but I have read it in the Prophecy and I will find it again. Israel will attack Southern Lebanon as much as I hate to say it with Limited nuclear weapons but as we all know Lebanon is too small to for limited so chances are it will spread. God help us from the devils in Iran and Israel with Damascus being the instigator in all of this..

  6. nagy_michael2 Avatar
    nagy_michael2

    This man is pragmatic and he has been trying to seek peace and prosperity for Iran. Instead of these extremists muallahs wants the whole pie. well I guess Iran and Hezbollah will eventually get what they deserve. I know Iran has been extremely smart about attacking many targets and have developed good weapons. Hezbollah has a lot of experience but in the end the Air power and ships and many smart missiles will get the best of them and shake the foundations from underneath them. Iran been talking big and uses surrogates to attack their enemies. But eventually they have to come face to face with the western allies and US on top of them. The U.S. Will not be defeated even if Russia and China get involved. I am not a supporter of Israel but Israel will burn the Russian army with nuclear weapons and their corpses will lie for 7 years before the area get cleaned and fumigated and whatever necessary means to remove the pollutions. This is Written and I know some will ask where but I have read it in the Prophecy and I will find it again. Israel will attack Southern Lebanon as much as I hate to say it with Limited nuclear weapons but as we all know Lebanon is too small to for limited so chances are it will spread. God help us from the devils in Iran and Israel with Damascus being the instigator in all of this..

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