بعد سقوط صدمة أسرة الأسد التي استمرت 54 عامًا ، تقوم البلدان في جميع أنحاء المنطقة بإعادة معايرة مواقعها تجاه قوات المتمردين السورية الآن في السيطرة.
—————————————————————————————————
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (C), Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (L) and Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam al-Sabbagh (R) at a press conference in Baghdad on December 6, 2024 Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty]. Iran and Iraq, strong supporters of the former Syrian regime, have made moves to mend ties with the new government in Damascus, following the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad last week.. A top Iraqi official has said Baghdad does not plan to boycott any regime chosen by the Syrian people, stated an Iraqi official to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister edition on Tuesday.. The diplomat, who asked not to be named, said Baghdad was keen to “communicate and coordinate” with those in charge of the Syrian state at present.. Countries across the region have been rushing to announce their positions in the wake of the shock rebel advance in Syria which saw opposition forces, led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), topple the Assad regime in days, which had ruled Syria for 53 years.. On Monday evening, Iraqi government spokesperson Basim al-Awadi said while developments on the ground in Syria were “unexpected”, Baghdad had “no intention of intervening in Syrian affairs”.. However, he also warned that “endangering Syrian minorities would have consequences inside Iraq”.. An anonymous senior Iraqi official from the foreign ministry told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Baghdad planned to engage with the transitional government in Syria, rather than with individuals.. He outlined a number of high-priority issues of mutual interest between Syria and Iraq and emphasised the importance communication between the countries being reopened.. These include the shared border issue, Iraqi refugees in Syria, particularly in the Al-Hol camp, and the Shia religious shrines in Damascus, he said.. In remarks to the newspaper Al-Mada on Tuesday, Iraqi political analyst Mohamed Nanaa said messages had been dispatched from Baghdad to Damascus in the past hours via a Turkish intermediary, proposing recognition of the “reality on the ground in Syria, if a national power equation is established which respected all components”.. “The answer to the Iraqi government was that what Baghdad is requesting aligns with what the (Syrian factions) which toppled the Assad regime are also seeking,” added Nana’a.. Meanwhile, Khamis al-Khanjar, the head of the Sovereignty Alliance – the largest Sunni Arab political force in Iraq – called on the Syrian people to learn from the early mistakes made in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime.. In a speech on Monday, Khanjar said: “The events that Syria has witnessed serve as a profound lesson for every political regime. Building nations cannot be achieved through oppression and the confiscation of freedoms, as they must be built on foundations of justice and citizenship.”. He warned that “the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad offers a clear warning to every political regime that ignores the voices of its people and depends on repression, secret informants, and prisons to stifle the breath of freedom”.. Meanwhile, in Tehran, the government remained silent for several hours following Assad’s fall, before a statement was issued by the Iranian foreign ministry affirming the right of the Syrian people to determine their future “without destructive foreign intervention”.. On Monday, a senior Iranian official said “a direct line of communication with rebels in Syria’s new leadership” had been opened with the hope of preventing “a hostile trajectory” from emerging between the two countries.. While there has been significant anger in both conservative and reformist circles in Iran, who have accused the government of failing to support the Syrian regime and leaving the “resistance front” in Syria vulnerable, some have offered explanations for Iran’s decision not to come to Assad’s aid.. Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, a former commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Assad had become “hesitant in fulfilling his commitments to the Islamic Republic of Iran” after drawing closer to Arab regimes which had asked him to “distance himself from Iran in exchange for aid and money”.. He said one reason for Assad’s downfall was his decision to distance his regime from Iran and Tehran’s policies in the region.. Expert in Iranian affairs Salahaddin Khadiv, however, said Iran had lost its gateway into the “Arab Middle East” and a vital asset with the fall of the Syrian regime.. “This downfall represents an exceptional moment in the history of the region – it will overturn existing equations and lay the foundations for a new Middle East,” he noted.. This article is based on two articles which appeared in our Arabic edition by Mohammed Ali and Saber Gul Anbari on 10 December 2024. To read the original articles click here and here.
