The Lebanese al-Mustaqbal daily published an article on December 29th describing Syria as a very expensive quagmire for Iran, adding 2012 was a very difficult year for the mullahs’ regime and 2013 will be even harder with uprisings in Iran.
“The Syria quagmire was very expensive for Tehran and the West’s sanctions – targeting this regime for insisting on its nuclear ambitions – have destroyed Iran’s economic framework. In 2012, the mullahs’ first incurable and painful illness was seen with the fall of the rial and popular protests, both of which can come to life again at any moment in 2013,” al-Mustaqbal wrote.
“The deadly blows Iran received in Syria no doubt had their impacts on the top of the power pyramid. Khamenei placed the blame on the defeat in Syria on Quds Force commander Ghasem Soleimani, who had promised the battle in Syria will finish in Iran’s favor. However, this was a failure. According to senior Western intelligence sources, Iran injected more than $10bn in the Syria quagmire to save the Assad regime from complete destruction,” the Lebanese daily added.
“According to official documents unveiled by Tehran opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization, Iran is continuing to bypass European sanctions by creating money laundering networks. According to these files, one Ahmadinejad assistant during his visit to Vienna by establishing a money laundering network intended to purchase the regime’s necessary equipment from black markets, which itself is a violation of UN sanctions,” the daily continued.