Iran intends to maintain relations with Syria even after ally's ouster

Tehran [Iran], December 11 (ANI): Iran said it wants to maintain relations with Syria after the fall of its major ally, President Bashar al-Assad, but that opposition groups' approach towards Israel would be crucial, Al Jazeera reported.

On Tuesday, Iran government's spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani called for "respect for Syria's territorial integrity" and said the Syrian people should decide their own fate, as per Al Jazeera.

Speaking about Iran's future relations with Syria, she said, "their distance from the Zionist regime" would be an important deciding factor.

Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said in a closed-door meeting in their parliament on Tuesday that no Iranian forces currently remain in Syria, Al Jazeera reported.

Arguing that this withdrawal did not mean Tehran's power had been diminished, Salami said Iranian forces were present in Syria until the last moments of al-Assad's government, according to lawmakers present.

Mohajerani said 4,000 Iranian citizens returned from Syria on board 10 flights organised by Iranian airline Mahan, since Assad's overthrow.

Tehran has not commented on reports that it has established a direct line of dialogue with the armed groups that toppled Syria's ruling family, which was allied with Iran for more than 40 years.

Before Assad fled, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeatedly called the opposition's attacks, led by opposition armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria, an "American-Zionist ploy" aiming to further destabilise the region amid the fallout of the Israeli war on Gaza, as per Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, stating that Israel has "no intention of interfering" in Syria's internal affairs, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned to take "necessary" measures if the current regime allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria or transfers weapons to Hezbollah.

"We have no intention of interfering in Syria's internal affairs. However, we do intend to do what is necessary for our security. As such, I approve the Air Force bombing of strategic military capabilities left by Syrian military. So that they will not fall into the hands of the jihadists. This is similar to what the British Air Force did when it bombed the fleet of the Vichy regime, which was cooperating with the Nazis, so that it would not fall into the Nazis' hands," Netanyahu said in a video address on Tuesday. (ANI)