MESOP “….. AND THE WINNER IS!? – IRAN :“We Will Win in Syria’s Aleppo”

The top aide of Iran’s Supreme Leader has proclaimed that Syria’s Assad regime, assisted by the Islamic Republic, will be victorious in the country’s largest city Aleppo. Ali Akbar Velayati continued a series of Iranian statements declaring military commitment until Aleppo was re-occupied, telling Syrian “economic activists” in Tehran on Thursday.

Velayati said: We do not see another example in the region of two governments being so committed to each other….We believe the government and the people of Syria will be victorious in the battle over the fate of Aleppo. The defeat of the enemy in Aleppo will lead to [more] defeats in Syria.Iran has provided essential political, economic, and military support to the Assad regime since Syria’s uprising began in March 2011. However, for years Tehran denied that its military intervention was more than an “advisory” role in Damascus. That line began to change in October 2015 when Iran — accompanying Russia’s launch of thousands of airstrikes — put in more commanders, troops, and Iranian-led foreign militia. Last month, Tehran finally declared that it was part of the campaign to retake Aleppo, divided since July 2012.

Last weekend, Velayati warned the US not to use force against the Assad regime. On Wednesday, the head of the elite Quds Force, General Qassem Soleimani, said, “Our defense of Syria is the defense of Islam.”

On Thursday, Velayati criticized the US for seeking “the partition of Syria and Iraq” and assured:The people of Syria and Iraq will show that with their unity, they will be able to defeat the wishes of the enemy….The Syrian people and government should be allowed to deal with the terrorists. www.mesop.de