Iran helping Syria?
A relationship between Shiite-led Iran and predominantly Sunni Syria might appear unlikely, but its real - these two (apparently) opposing sects are working together.
The IranIan connectIon in the Syrian conflict is significant. A relationship between Shiite-led Iran and predominantly Sunni Syria might appear unlikely; however, Assad is an Alawite, who are closely aligned with the Shia and an enemy to the Sunnis. Both also despise the United States.
For three decades, Syria and Iran have remained allied, despite attempts to rip them apart. Together, they have not only helped fund the Iranian terror group Hizbollah, but also have pooled political leverage and military resources to enhance their positions, build a network of surrogate militias, and frustrate the plans of their enemies, whether they be Israel, Iraq under Saddam, or the United States.
Today, perhaps the main reason the Iranians are opposed to ISIS/ISIL invading Northern Iraq is because the group is Sunni and they’re standing between Shia Iran and Al-Assad’s Syria.
Together Syria and Iran ensured that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, which bordered both countries, did not become the predominant regional power. They also forced the United States out of Lebanon in 1984, using Hizbollah to blow up our embassy and U.S. Marine barracks in 1983, and they thwarted Israel’s effort to bring Lebanon into its orbit during an eighteen-year occupation that finally ended in Israel’s unilateral withdrawal in 2000.
The odd bedfellows together sired or supported—in addition to Hizbollah—Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and an array of radical Palestinian groups. All reject peace and together have inflicted repeated setbacks on six American presidents.
Since its inception the Iranian/Syrian alliance has lacked one thing—an unbroken geographical link between the two countries. Now Iraq was becoming that link.
Once Iran and Syria saw the United States invade Iraq, remove Saddam, and begin to set up a new government, they saw their chance to create an unbroken roadway — a terrorist path from Iran through Iraq, into Syria and then Lebanon directly.
This uninterrupted land bridge would open a path all the way to the Mediterranean Sea for the Iranians, allowing the uninterrupted flow of cash, killers, and Kalashnikovs straight from Supreme Leader Khamenei’s front door, through Assad’s Syria, direct to Hassan Nasrallah’s Hizbollah terrorists, and on to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s back porch.
For three decades, Syria and Iran have remained allied, despite attempts to rip them apart. Together, they have not only helped fund the Iranian terror group Hizbollah, but also have pooled political leverage and military resources to enhance their positions, build a network of surrogate militias, and frustrate the plans of their enemies, whether they be Israel, Iraq under Saddam, or the United States.
Today, perhaps the main reason the Iranians are opposed to ISIS/ISIL invading Northern Iraq is because the group is Sunni and they’re standing between Shia Iran and Al-Assad’s Syria.
Together Syria and Iran ensured that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, which bordered both countries, did not become the predominant regional power. They also forced the United States out of Lebanon in 1984, using Hizbollah to blow up our embassy and U.S. Marine barracks in 1983, and they thwarted Israel’s effort to bring Lebanon into its orbit during an eighteen-year occupation that finally ended in Israel’s unilateral withdrawal in 2000.
The odd bedfellows together sired or supported—in addition to Hizbollah—Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and an array of radical Palestinian groups. All reject peace and together have inflicted repeated setbacks on six American presidents.
Since its inception the Iranian/Syrian alliance has lacked one thing—an unbroken geographical link between the two countries. Now Iraq was becoming that link.
Once Iran and Syria saw the United States invade Iraq, remove Saddam, and begin to set up a new government, they saw their chance to create an unbroken roadway — a terrorist path from Iran through Iraq, into Syria and then Lebanon directly.
This uninterrupted land bridge would open a path all the way to the Mediterranean Sea for the Iranians, allowing the uninterrupted flow of cash, killers, and Kalashnikovs straight from Supreme Leader Khamenei’s front door, through Assad’s Syria, direct to Hassan Nasrallah’s Hizbollah terrorists, and on to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s back porch.