Le Figaro – August 9, 2012 – By stating that Syria has been one of its “main pillars of resistance” vis-à-vis Israel and the US, and that Iran will not allow it to fall, Tehran showed its tendency to engage more directly in defending the Bashar al-Assad regime.
This message that was corresponded by Saeed Jalili, Iranian Supreme Leader’s personal representative at the end of a meeting on Tuesday with the Syrian President is a sign of Tehran’s concern over the fall of the Syrian regime, which in recent days has been facing a wave of defections and is without a doubt engaged in a decisive battle in Aleppo.
In the diplomatic scene, Tehran launched an offensive at the same speed and on Thursday held a “consultation meeting over Syria” in Tehran.
According to organizers, dozens of countries – the list of which was not published – were to take part in this conference that was described as an attempt to revive the front in support of the Syrian regime. The initiation of a “national dialogue” discussion in Syria is clearly being mentioned by the Friends of Syria group, which was established by France, the US, UK, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to support the revolt.
Iran on the other hand has launched a diplomatic offensive to free a group of its citizens who were abducted on Saturday along with their bus by rebel forces. A brigade of the Syrian Free Army has taken responsibility for the abduction of a group of 48 Iranians announcing on Saturday that 3 of these men were killed in the regime force’s bombardments. In a video posted on Sunday, fighters from the al-Bara’a Brigade said that their hostages are “members of the Revolutionary Guards”, the elite army of the Islamic regime, and not just pilgrims, especially since they displayed ID cards and firearms licenses belonging to these individuals.
Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday emphasized that retired members of the Revolutionary Guards and military personnel can be seen among the hostages. While speaking to reporters on his plane back from Ankara, after requesting help from the Turkish Government, he insisted that the Iranians taken hostage are “pilgrims” visiting holy Shiite shrines in Damascus. At the same time, through the Iranian delegation in the UN, he requested the help of the UN Secretary General.
Based on information published by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the 48 Iranian detainees are “part of a group of 150 individuals from the Revolutionary Guards who had landed from a Tehran-Damascus Mahan Airline flight”. According to these dissidents, Tehran is continuing to dispatch elements from the special Quds Force with forged documents under the cover of pilgrims to assist the suppression.