MESOPOTAMIA NEWS FOCUS : Iran concerned about being excluded from process of settling the conflict in Syria

Iran is concerned that Turkey, Russia and Qatar are trying to bypass the Astana accords.  A senior Iranian claimed openly that Iran should not become dependent on the survival of Assad alone

Ami Rojkes Dombe | 22/03/2021 AHVAL NEWS : President al-Assad receives Senior Assistant to Iranian Foreign Minister Khaji and the accompanying delegation – http://sana.sy/

According to a report by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Iran is concerned about a change of direction in Syrian President Assad’s palace in Damascus. “In an extraordinary statement, a former Iranian Majlis member stated that it can not be ruled out that Syria will change its approach toward Iran is the future, and hence Iran must not place all its eggs in President Assad’s basket. His statement was made against the backdrop of Iran’s exclusion from a meeting between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia and Qatar in Doha, which convened to discuss the crisis in Syria,” the report said.

According to the report, the March 11 meeting between the Turkish, Russian and Qatari foreign ministers in Doha, which discussed ending the crisis in Syria, aroused criticism in Iran, which was not invited to the gathering. The website Iranian Diplomacy argued that the meeting of the three foreign ministers in Doha may indicate the start of a political and diplomatic effort by the three countries to distance Iran from the process of settling the conflict in Syria.

The report said that former Majlis member and commentator on political and international affairs Jalal Mirzaei stated “that over the past decade, Russia and Turkey adopted different approaches than the Iranian one concerning Syria’s future and the Assad government, and that even as part of the Astana Talks, disagreements arose between the three countries, although all of them wish to see an end to the war in Syria, and the return of stability and security to the country.”

“When addressing the possibility that President Assad himself may change his approach toward Iran, Mirzaei stated that this scenario can not be ruled out, although thus far, Bashar al-Assad did not adopt any steps that may indicate an intention to halt cooperation with Iran. He added, however, that Iran should not place all of its eggs in Syria in one basket and become dependent on the survival of Assad alone. Such a policy is irrational and impractical, he argued.”

On another topic, the report revealed that pro-Iranian militias based in Syria’s Albu Kamal area have recently started using civilian cars to move their forces between the towns in the area, and to and from the Syria-Iraq border, according to a report by Syrian pro-opposition news website Sada al-Sharqiya.

“The use of civilian cars (agricultural vehicles or rented taxis) instead of military vehicles, is intended to prevent air strikes by Israel or the United States. According to this report, the militias pay the car owners for their use, and also provide them with documents allowing them to pass unhindered through the checkpoints located in the area,” the report said.