Post revolution Iran’s relations with Syria have grown in strength since 1980. The constant visits by Iranian and Syrian officials between Tehran and Damascus, their shared hostility towards Israel and the U.S. and common interests in Lebanon are the pillars of the strategic relationship which has kept their bilateral relations at a high level.
Iranian Support of Syria’s Crackdown on Civilian Protests:
- “Support for the Syrian government and nation is one of the priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran” – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi at the height of Syrian unrest against Assad.
- Iran sends warships to Syria in response to the United Nations vote condemning Syria for human-rights violations against its own people.
- U.S. President Barack Obama :“The Syrian people have shown their courage in demanding a transition to democracy. President Assad now has a choice: He can lead that transition, or get out of the way.”
“So far, Syria has followed its Iranian ally, seeking assistance from Tehran in the tactics of suppression.”
Continuing Alliance of Syria and Iran
- Syria and Iran have intensified their strategic relationship as they have become increasingly more isolated from the West and antagonistic towards the United States in recent years.
- The two countries signed a “strategic cooperation” agreement in 2004 and a mutual defense pact in 2005.
- Their relationship is not only a tactical “marriage of convenience.” Iran and Syria have simultaneously deepened their economic, cultural and security ties over the past few years.
Mutual Support for Hezbollah:
- Syria is the bridge through which Iran created Hezbollah. The Syrians themselves began providing weapons to Hezbollah. Hezbollah became the focal point of the connection between Syria and Iran.
- In violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which demands there be “No sales or supply of arms and related material to Lebanon except as authorized by its government,” Iran continues to supply arms to Hezbollah via a complicit Syria. During the Second Lebanon War, Iran shipped arms directly through Syria and with full Syrian cooperation to the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
- Since the end of the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, Iran has assisted Hezbollah in rearming, in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Iran has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Hezbollah in Lebanon and has trained thousands of Hezbollah fighters at camps in Iran.
- Tehran supported Damascus after the February 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which brought international censure to the Assad regime.
- Syria has an interest in exploiting its assistance to Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, in order to destabilize Lebanon and reassert Syrian influence there since Syria’s military withdrawal in 2005.
Shared Hostility toward Israel:
- Syria and Iran share a deep mutual hostility toward Israel in accordance with their radical Islamic ideologies. Their support of Hezbollah exemplifies this antagonism.
- Syria is important to Iran’s efforts to assert its influence over the region, particularly because it borders Lebanon, which provides access to Hezbollah, and Israel, which Iran has declared its enemy.
- Syria has been one of Israel’s most implacable foes since Israel was established in 1948. The two nations fought each other in the Six-Day War in 1967, in the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and during the Lebanon War in 1982. Syria also shelters and supports Palestinian terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
- Since Ayatollah Khomeini seized power in Iran’s 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic has been consistently hostile toward Israel. Iran financially supports terrorist groups committed to the destruction of Israel and has repeatedly glorified that goal. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel.
- Tensions have risen between Israel, Iran and Syria since the 2005 election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first said in 2005 that Israel should be “wiped off the map” and has since reiterated that threat on numerous occasions.
A Common Antagonism toward the West, especially the United States and Europe:
- Syria and Iran share a deep hostility toward the United States.
- Iran, labeled by the U.S. State Department as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” bears responsibility for the takeover of the American embassy in Iran in 1979, and other acts of terrorism around the world. Since 1980, the two countries have not had diplomatic relations.
- Syria, also labeled a “state sponsor of terrorism” by the U.S. State Department, is a longtime and devoted supporter of Hezbollah, the terrorist organization responsible for the deaths of about 300 U.S. servicemen in Lebanon in 1983.
- Iran refuses to abide by UN Security Council Resolution 1696, which calls for it to halt its uranium enrichment program that could eventually be employed to develop nuclear weapons. The possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran is a threat to both Europe and the United States.
Thanks to the Israel Project
