Iran’s real enemy in Syria
Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, April 16, 2018
At a time
of economic hardship, Tehran has provided billions of dollars to help Assad
crush Islamist rebels. The question is why.
of economic hardship, Tehran has provided billions of dollars to help Assad
crush Islamist rebels. The question is why.
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Protestors
hold up a banner picturing late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,
Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameni
and late Syrian
Presidnet Hafez al-Assad. Louai Barsha / AFP / Getty |
“What
kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men,
women, and children?” President Trump asked Russia and Iran Friday night after
launching air strikes against the Syrian regime. “The nations of the world can
be judged by the friends they keep.”
kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men,
women, and children?” President Trump asked Russia and Iran Friday night after
launching air strikes against the Syrian regime. “The nations of the world can
be judged by the friends they keep.”
Despite
his speechwriters’ best efforts, if there is one thing Donald Trump and Iran
share it is an inability to be shamed. Over the last seven years no country has
done more, financially and militarily, to back the Bashar al-Assad regime’s
mass murder of Syrians than the Islamic Republic of Iran, a theocracy that
claims to rule from a moral high ground. Within hours of joint American,
French, and British targeted military strikes in Syria, Iranian president
Hassan Rouhani called
Assad to pledge his solidarity.
his speechwriters’ best efforts, if there is one thing Donald Trump and Iran
share it is an inability to be shamed. Over the last seven years no country has
done more, financially and militarily, to back the Bashar al-Assad regime’s
mass murder of Syrians than the Islamic Republic of Iran, a theocracy that
claims to rule from a moral high ground. Within hours of joint American,
French, and British targeted military strikes in Syria, Iranian president
Hassan Rouhani called
Assad to pledge his solidarity.
At a time
of great economic hardship in Iran, Tehran has provided billions of dollars to
arm, train, and pay tens of thousands of Arab, Afghan, and Pakistani Shia
militants help Assad crush Sunni Islamist rebels. Tehran, the victim of heinous
chemical weapons attacks by Saddam Hussein three decades ago, has provided
Assad the means to deliver these same weapons, while simultaneously denying
that he uses them. The question is why?
of great economic hardship in Iran, Tehran has provided billions of dollars to
arm, train, and pay tens of thousands of Arab, Afghan, and Pakistani Shia
militants help Assad crush Sunni Islamist rebels. Tehran, the victim of heinous
chemical weapons attacks by Saddam Hussein three decades ago, has provided
Assad the means to deliver these same weapons, while simultaneously denying
that he uses them. The question is why?
Distilled
to its essence, Tehran’s steadfast support for Assad is not driven by the
geopolitical or financial interests of the Iranian nation, nor the religious
convictions of the Islamic Republic, but by a visceral and seemingly
inextinguishable hatred for the state of Israel. As senior Iranian officials
like Ali Akbar Velayati, a close adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, have commonly said,
“The chain of Resistance against Israel by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, the new
Iraqi government and Hamas passes through the Syrian highway. … Syria is the
golden ring of the chain of resistance against Israel.” So long as the
78-year-old Khamenei remains in power, this hatred will justify Tehran’s
continued commitment of blood and treasure to support Assad’s use of all means
necessary—including chemical weapons—to preserve his rule.
to its essence, Tehran’s steadfast support for Assad is not driven by the
geopolitical or financial interests of the Iranian nation, nor the religious
convictions of the Islamic Republic, but by a visceral and seemingly
inextinguishable hatred for the state of Israel. As senior Iranian officials
like Ali Akbar Velayati, a close adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, have commonly said,
“The chain of Resistance against Israel by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, the new
Iraqi government and Hamas passes through the Syrian highway. … Syria is the
golden ring of the chain of resistance against Israel.” So long as the
78-year-old Khamenei remains in power, this hatred will justify Tehran’s
continued commitment of blood and treasure to support Assad’s use of all means
necessary—including chemical weapons—to preserve his rule.
Though
Israel has virtually no direct impact on the daily lives of Iranians,
opposition to the Jewish state has been the most enduring pillar of Iranian
revolutionary ideology. Whether Khamenei is giving a speech about agriculture
or education, he invariably returns to the evils of Zionism. “The Zionist
regime is a true cancer tumor on this region that should be cut off,” Khamenei said
in a 2012 speech. “We will support and help any nations, any groups fighting
against the Zionist regime across the world.” Given Israel’s military
superiority, Khamenei’s stated strategy is not Israel’s short-term
annihilation, but its long-term political dissolution. “If Muslims and
Palestinians unite and all fight,” he commonly says, “the Zionist regime will
not be in existence in 25 years.”
Israel has virtually no direct impact on the daily lives of Iranians,
opposition to the Jewish state has been the most enduring pillar of Iranian
revolutionary ideology. Whether Khamenei is giving a speech about agriculture
or education, he invariably returns to the evils of Zionism. “The Zionist
regime is a true cancer tumor on this region that should be cut off,” Khamenei said
in a 2012 speech. “We will support and help any nations, any groups fighting
against the Zionist regime across the world.” Given Israel’s military
superiority, Khamenei’s stated strategy is not Israel’s short-term
annihilation, but its long-term political dissolution. “If Muslims and
Palestinians unite and all fight,” he commonly says, “the Zionist regime will
not be in existence in 25 years.”
In
ostensibly trying to avenge what he portrays as one injustice, however, Tehran
has helped Assad perpetrate a far greater one. The number of Syrian deaths
since 2011 (an estimated 500,000, though the UN has stopped counting) is more
than five times greater than the approximately 90,000 Palestinians killed in
the last 70 years of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, while more than twice as
many Syrians (12 million) as Palestinians have been displaced. Indeed since
2011 far more Palestinians have been killed by Assad (nearly 3,700) than by
Israel, including by chemical weapons. “If their way to return Palestinians
back home is displacing millions of Syrians,” said my friend Kassem Eid, one of
around half a million Palestinian refugees who grew up in Syria, and a victim
of one of Assad’s chemical weapons attack, “I don’t want to go back to
Palestine.”
ostensibly trying to avenge what he portrays as one injustice, however, Tehran
has helped Assad perpetrate a far greater one. The number of Syrian deaths
since 2011 (an estimated 500,000, though the UN has stopped counting) is more
than five times greater than the approximately 90,000 Palestinians killed in
the last 70 years of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, while more than twice as
many Syrians (12 million) as Palestinians have been displaced. Indeed since
2011 far more Palestinians have been killed by Assad (nearly 3,700) than by
Israel, including by chemical weapons. “If their way to return Palestinians
back home is displacing millions of Syrians,” said my friend Kassem Eid, one of
around half a million Palestinian refugees who grew up in Syria, and a victim
of one of Assad’s chemical weapons attack, “I don’t want to go back to
Palestine.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The
Iran-Assad alliance is a study in contradictions. While Iranian advocates for
secularism are viciously repressed, Assad routinely says,
“The most important thing is that Syria should be secular.” Iranian women who
defy the mandatory hijab are subject to violence and imprisonment,
while Hezbollah fighters celebrate military victories in Damascus nightclubs
alongside scantily-clad
escorts. While nude Renaissance art is censored
in Europe so as not to offend the religious sensibilities of visiting Iranian
officials, Assad’s forces have deliberately used rape
as a tool of repression against opponents. Khamenei implores his subjects to buy
Iranian products to boost economic self-sufficiency, while Tehran’s largesse
has helped subsidize Assad’s wife Asmaa—an unveiled fashionista—sustain
what looks like her primary passion: shopping in
London.
Iran-Assad alliance is a study in contradictions. While Iranian advocates for
secularism are viciously repressed, Assad routinely says,
“The most important thing is that Syria should be secular.” Iranian women who
defy the mandatory hijab are subject to violence and imprisonment,
while Hezbollah fighters celebrate military victories in Damascus nightclubs
alongside scantily-clad
escorts. While nude Renaissance art is censored
in Europe so as not to offend the religious sensibilities of visiting Iranian
officials, Assad’s forces have deliberately used rape
as a tool of repression against opponents. Khamenei implores his subjects to buy
Iranian products to boost economic self-sufficiency, while Tehran’s largesse
has helped subsidize Assad’s wife Asmaa—an unveiled fashionista—sustain
what looks like her primary passion: shopping in
London.
From the
outset of the Syrian uprising in 2011, Assad and Iran assiduously sought
to crush moderate opposition and indulge radical Islamists in order to engineer
a no-win proposition for the West: Assad or jihadists. Yet Tehran has tried to
portray its role in Syria as an existential battle for Iran, against the forces
of Sunni radicalism. “Syria is Iran’s 35th province,” said Mehdi Taeb, a head
of the Revolutionary Guards intelligence wing and a close advisor to Iranian
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “If we lose Syria we won’t be able to
hold Tehran.” While Assad’s collapse would undoubtedly be a strategic blow to
the Islamic Republic, Iran has been a nation-state for virtually 2,500 years
before now without the benefit of a Syrian vassal state. Just as Russia
outlived the USSR, so will Iran outlive the Islamic Republic.
outset of the Syrian uprising in 2011, Assad and Iran assiduously sought
to crush moderate opposition and indulge radical Islamists in order to engineer
a no-win proposition for the West: Assad or jihadists. Yet Tehran has tried to
portray its role in Syria as an existential battle for Iran, against the forces
of Sunni radicalism. “Syria is Iran’s 35th province,” said Mehdi Taeb, a head
of the Revolutionary Guards intelligence wing and a close advisor to Iranian
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “If we lose Syria we won’t be able to
hold Tehran.” While Assad’s collapse would undoubtedly be a strategic blow to
the Islamic Republic, Iran has been a nation-state for virtually 2,500 years
before now without the benefit of a Syrian vassal state. Just as Russia
outlived the USSR, so will Iran outlive the Islamic Republic.
Today the
Tehran-Damascus axis has come to resemble a mutually exploitative love affair:
Iran likes Syria for its body (which borders Israel and serves as Tehran’s
waystation to Hezbollah), and Syria likes Iran for its money. In exchange for
Iranian largesse, Assad has forsaken his sovereignty. “Syria is occupied by the
Iranian regime,” said former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab. “The person who
runs the country is not Bashar al-Assad but [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps
commander] Qassem Suleimani.” As for the other half of the couple, Tehran’s
staggering expenditures in Syria—estimated to be several billion annually—have
become a growing cause of popular resentment amidst deteriorating economic
conditions in Iran. During anti-government protests last January in Iran,
residents of Mashhad—a large Shiite Shrine town–chanted
“Leave Syria alone, think about us.”
Tehran-Damascus axis has come to resemble a mutually exploitative love affair:
Iran likes Syria for its body (which borders Israel and serves as Tehran’s
waystation to Hezbollah), and Syria likes Iran for its money. In exchange for
Iranian largesse, Assad has forsaken his sovereignty. “Syria is occupied by the
Iranian regime,” said former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab. “The person who
runs the country is not Bashar al-Assad but [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps
commander] Qassem Suleimani.” As for the other half of the couple, Tehran’s
staggering expenditures in Syria—estimated to be several billion annually—have
become a growing cause of popular resentment amidst deteriorating economic
conditions in Iran. During anti-government protests last January in Iran,
residents of Mashhad—a large Shiite Shrine town–chanted
“Leave Syria alone, think about us.”
Though
Iranians feel the financial costs of the Syria war, Tehran has outsourced the
human costs. Iran’s 40,000-strong Shia foreign
legion—composed of Lebanese, Afghans, Iraqis, and Pakistanis—have
endured five times more casualties in Syria than Iranians. Afghan
militias—known as the Fatemiyoun Division—have paid the highest price.
Most are not enthusiastic holy warriors but undocumented manual laborers, some underage,
whom the Iranian Revolutionary Guards present with an offer they can’t refuse:
10-year residency permits in Iran—mitigating the risk of forced deportation—and
$800 per month to go to Syria, purportedly to protect the Shiite shrine of
Sayyida Zainab, a granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad, outside Damascus.
Lacking basic training and often illiterate, these Afghan troops are instead
used as initial
assault cannon fodder. “Sometimes we had no supplies,” said one
former Afghan fighter, “no water, no bread—hungry and thirsty in the middle of
the desert.” For Palestine.
Iranians feel the financial costs of the Syria war, Tehran has outsourced the
human costs. Iran’s 40,000-strong Shia foreign
legion—composed of Lebanese, Afghans, Iraqis, and Pakistanis—have
endured five times more casualties in Syria than Iranians. Afghan
militias—known as the Fatemiyoun Division—have paid the highest price.
Most are not enthusiastic holy warriors but undocumented manual laborers, some underage,
whom the Iranian Revolutionary Guards present with an offer they can’t refuse:
10-year residency permits in Iran—mitigating the risk of forced deportation—and
$800 per month to go to Syria, purportedly to protect the Shiite shrine of
Sayyida Zainab, a granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad, outside Damascus.
Lacking basic training and often illiterate, these Afghan troops are instead
used as initial
assault cannon fodder. “Sometimes we had no supplies,” said one
former Afghan fighter, “no water, no bread—hungry and thirsty in the middle of
the desert.” For Palestine.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The
burden of defending Iran’s role in Syria to Western audiences has fallen on the
shoulders of Tehran’s U.S.-educated Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Among Zarif’s
considerable talents is an ability, and willingness, to tell brazen untruths
with tremendous conviction. Shortly after Zarif insisted
Iran had “no boots on the ground” in Syria, for example, the Revolutionary
Guards announced
their 1,000th casualty. In the aftermath of each chemical weapons attack by
Assad, Zarif has systematically absolved Assad of responsibility by following
the same playbook:
burden of defending Iran’s role in Syria to Western audiences has fallen on the
shoulders of Tehran’s U.S.-educated Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Among Zarif’s
considerable talents is an ability, and willingness, to tell brazen untruths
with tremendous conviction. Shortly after Zarif insisted
Iran had “no boots on the ground” in Syria, for example, the Revolutionary
Guards announced
their 1,000th casualty. In the aftermath of each chemical weapons attack by
Assad, Zarif has systematically absolved Assad of responsibility by following
the same playbook:
First,
remind everyone that Saddam Hussein—backed by Western powers—used chemical
weapons against Iran during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. In other words, Syrian
children are not the victims; Iran is still the victim. Second, ambiguously
condemn chemical weapons use “by anyone.” This allows Zarif’s Western
allies to acknowledge his humanity. When pressed, however, Zarif has always
claimed that it was the Syrian opposition—backed by American and Israel—that
has used chemical weapons, not Assad. Zarif has paid little reputational cost
for this whitewashing; the Nobel Peace Prize committee continues to mention him
as an annual nominee.
remind everyone that Saddam Hussein—backed by Western powers—used chemical
weapons against Iran during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. In other words, Syrian
children are not the victims; Iran is still the victim. Second, ambiguously
condemn chemical weapons use “by anyone.” This allows Zarif’s Western
allies to acknowledge his humanity. When pressed, however, Zarif has always
claimed that it was the Syrian opposition—backed by American and Israel—that
has used chemical weapons, not Assad. Zarif has paid little reputational cost
for this whitewashing; the Nobel Peace Prize committee continues to mention him
as an annual nominee.
After
seven years, and with billions of dollars of sunk costs, an assertive Russian
partner, and a U.S. president that aspires to withdraw from the region, Tehran
feels vindicated in Syria. It is alleged to be building permanent
military bases outside Damascus, with armed drones
capable of reaching Israel. Periodic, limited U.S. military strikes against
Assad’s weapons depots are not likely to change this calculus. Hopes that
Assad’s mass repression or use of chemical weapons would compel Tehran to
reassess its support have been proven wrong. Just as Iranians today frequently
evoke how Saddam used chemical weapons against Iran over three decades ago,
Syrians will have similarly long memories of Iranian complicity.
seven years, and with billions of dollars of sunk costs, an assertive Russian
partner, and a U.S. president that aspires to withdraw from the region, Tehran
feels vindicated in Syria. It is alleged to be building permanent
military bases outside Damascus, with armed drones
capable of reaching Israel. Periodic, limited U.S. military strikes against
Assad’s weapons depots are not likely to change this calculus. Hopes that
Assad’s mass repression or use of chemical weapons would compel Tehran to
reassess its support have been proven wrong. Just as Iranians today frequently
evoke how Saddam used chemical weapons against Iran over three decades ago,
Syrians will have similarly long memories of Iranian complicity.
While
Friday night’s missile shower illustrated the clear power asymmetry between
Washington and Tehran, the last seven years have also illustrated the two
countries’ asymmetry of commitment in Syria. In contrast to Donald Trump—who
did not care about Syria last week and will likely not care about Syria next
week—Ayatollah Khamenei’s opposition to Israel, and his commitment to Syria,
has not wavered for four decades. Like Captain Ahab chasing Moby Dick, the
78-year-old Khamenei will take this pursuit to the grave with him.
Friday night’s missile shower illustrated the clear power asymmetry between
Washington and Tehran, the last seven years have also illustrated the two
countries’ asymmetry of commitment in Syria. In contrast to Donald Trump—who
did not care about Syria last week and will likely not care about Syria next
week—Ayatollah Khamenei’s opposition to Israel, and his commitment to Syria,
has not wavered for four decades. Like Captain Ahab chasing Moby Dick, the
78-year-old Khamenei will take this pursuit to the grave with him.
In the
1998 movie American History X, a vivid portrait of America’s neo-Nazi
movement—America’s Islamist equivalent—Edward Norton’s character is a young
radical sent to prison for committing a hate crime. When a sympathetic former
teacher visits him in prison to try to talk sense, he remains intransigent. The
teacher’s simple parting comment, however, was powerful enough to cause Norton
to reflect. “Just ask yourself one thing,” said the teacher. “Has
anything you’ve done made your life better?”
1998 movie American History X, a vivid portrait of America’s neo-Nazi
movement—America’s Islamist equivalent—Edward Norton’s character is a young
radical sent to prison for committing a hate crime. When a sympathetic former
teacher visits him in prison to try to talk sense, he remains intransigent. The
teacher’s simple parting comment, however, was powerful enough to cause Norton
to reflect. “Just ask yourself one thing,” said the teacher. “Has
anything you’ve done made your life better?”
Amidst
all the carnage and destruction in Syria, a similar question could be posed to
Khamenei. Has anything that Iran has done in Syria, or elsewhere for that
matter, advanced its goal of destroying Israel and liberating Palestine?
Khamenei appeared to contemplate this question recently. “Today the body of
Muslim world is severely wounded,” he said.
“Enemies of Islam have managed to baffle the Muslim world by staging war and
discord, giving the enemy more security in the region. In Western Asia, the
Zionist regime thrives in a safe haven, while Muslims are posed against one
another.” Long live Palestine.
all the carnage and destruction in Syria, a similar question could be posed to
Khamenei. Has anything that Iran has done in Syria, or elsewhere for that
matter, advanced its goal of destroying Israel and liberating Palestine?
Khamenei appeared to contemplate this question recently. “Today the body of
Muslim world is severely wounded,” he said.
“Enemies of Islam have managed to baffle the Muslim world by staging war and
discord, giving the enemy more security in the region. In Western Asia, the
Zionist regime thrives in a safe haven, while Muslims are posed against one
another.” Long live Palestine.
