During in his speech in the ceremony held for the IRGC members killed in Syria, the IRGC brigadier Mohmmad Ali Jaafari, head of the IRGC, once again insisted on the widespread dispatch of forces to Syria. He called killing the defenseless people of Syria as “defending the sanctity of the leader and revolution” and “Armed struggle of the Islamic revolution beyond Iran’s borders” “Armed struggle of the Islamic revolution beyond Iran’s borders is a very big and divine blessing that not everyone will have,”. Addressing the regime’s broken spirit forces, he said, “We should consider it as our duty to expand this front…Armed struggle of the Islamic revolution beyond Iran’s borders is a very big and divine blessing that not everyone will have.” Referring the new battalions of mercenaries that have been stablished to be dispatched to Syria, he said, “A good foundation was set up in Tehran… to expand this front, and we are expanding it across the country.”
In that ceremony, Ghalibaf, the regime’s mayor in Tehran and a member of Khamenei’s inner circle admitted to the public hatred and protest against spending the budget and sources of Tehran’s municipality for the war in Syria and said, “Less than a decade ago, there were some people on Tehran streets chanting “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon, my life is for Iran”… even at that time the media were implying why should our money be spent somewhere else? Why our children are fighting in another front?” While describing the war in Syria more difficult the eight-year-long war with Iraq, he once again underscored full support for the regime’s criminal aggression in Syria. (Tasnim, news agency of terrorist Quds force- October 21)
Ali Larijani, head of Majlis, had said earlier that because of its love toward Ahl-e Beit (read: export of terrorism), Iran has created a glorious movement in the world and has security and power. Security is a strategic issue for Iran, and not a secondary or minor issue. (Tasnim- October 3)
Nategh Nouri, head of Khamenei’s special inspection bureau, also admitted to popular protests against the regime’s meddling in Syria and said, “Lebanon, Syria and Palestine are our embankments. When we give consultation and martyrs in Syria, it is for the enemy to not enter our borders. Some people say why you are giving the country’s assets to Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.” (State-run media, September 19)
A regime’s political expert too said about the impacts of export of terrorism and fundamentalism to the region, “We saw their deterrent function, and perhaps their deterrent power has been more than Shahab-3 missiles… in the most difficult conditions that Damascus was collapsing and everything was almost finished, Iran went there alone. (state-run media- October 22)
In their internal reports the IRGC commanders express concern that the war in Syria will take long and after the US presidential elections, the situation will turn against the regime and Bashar Assad; therefore they need to attain a better military situation and to stabilize Bashar Assad in Power. This is the reason why the regime is against any type of ceasefire in Aleppo, and announcing ceasefire is nothing more than a propaganda tactic aimed at justifying the massacre of civilians. Due to world public abhorrence toward the regime’s crimes in Syria, the regime’s leaders attempt to not accentuate the role of IRGC in public opinion.
All indications suggest the regime is facing an impasse in Syria. In spite of dispatching huge number of IRGC forces and mercenaries to Syria, and spending billions of dollars of assets of deprived people of Iran in Syria, and despite the fact a big number of IRGC commanders have been killed in Syria, there is no prospect for the regime to get out of Syria’s crisis.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
25 October 2016
