Iran’s armed forces are locked in a fierce blame game over the fall of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, according to sources who spoke to The Telegraph.
Within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), commanders are reportedly pointing fingers at one another “in angry terms” for the collapse of Assad’s regime and the resulting loss of Iranian influence in the region.
“The atmosphere is like something between almost punching each other, punching the walls, yelling at each other and kicking rubbish bins. They are blaming each other, and no one is taking responsibility,” an official in Tehran told The Telegraph.
“No one ever imagined seeing Assad fleeing, as the focus for 10 years had been only on keeping him in power. And it was not because we were in love with him, it was because we wanted to maintain proximity to Israel and Hezbollah.”
Iran poured billions into supporting Assad’s regime during the Syrian civil war, viewing his survival as key to its regional “axis of resistance,” a network conceived by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the late IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
Near the start of the Syrian civil war, it was reported that then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had personally sanctioned the dispatch of officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to fight alongside Assad’s troops.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a top aide to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made clear several years ago that Iran would withdraw its “military advisers” from Syria, as well as from Iraq, only if their governments wanted it to.
Losing Syria is a critical blow to Iran, given its role as the main supply route for Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. “You need someone there to send arms to [but] they are either getting killed or escaping. Now the focus is on how to move forward from this impasse,” an IRGC official told The Telegraph.
“For now, there are no discussions about arms, as everyone is trying to understand what is really happening and how dangerous it is for Iran,” he added.
Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani, the current Quds Force commander, has been criticized for allowing Assad’s forces to collapse. “No one dares to tell him to his face, but… he is the one to hold accountable and fire,” said the IRGC source.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is scheduled to address the nation about the “recent regional developments” and has summoned IRGC commanders multiple times during Syria’s fall to rebel forces, according to the report.
While Iran has publicly expressed hope for continued relations with Syria, behind the scenes, the IRGC appears in crisis, with some calling for Qaani’s dismissal.
“The situation is bizarre and heated, and angry discussions are taking place – the other concern is what to tell supporters in Iran,” an IRGC official told The Telegraph.
Source » israelnationalnews