Syria27 September, 20263 min read
Syrian Official Conditions New Relations With Iran on Sovereignty, Reviewing Past Policies
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Syria says improving Iran ties requires Tehran respecting Syria's sovereignty and revising past policies. Official cites fourteen years of war, killings, displacement, and Iran's support for Assad as basis.
5 outlets told this the same way.
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Damascus sets conditions
Mohamed al-Jafal, the Afro-Asian Affairs Advisor at Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, said Syria’s stance toward Iranian policy is the result of fourteen years of war, killing, displacement, and destruction, and Iran’s role in supporting the regime of the deposed President Bashar al-Assad. Al-Jafal stated in a statement carried by the Syrian News Agency (SANA) that if Iran wants to build a new relationship with Syria, it must respect Syria’s sovereignty and the will of its people, review its past policies, and build trust. Al-Jafal emphasized that Syria’s new foreign policy adopts an open policy with all countries, while Syria cannot ignore what happened or the rights of Syrians.
Al-Jafal affirmed that Syria today is not a zone of influence for any country, and its foreign relations will be based on mutual respect, national interests, and parity, while Syria does not seek hostility or subordination but balanced relations that respect sovereignty and the will of its people. The remarks came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Al Jazeera that Iran has not yet been able to establish relations with the new Syrian government and attributed this to what he described as “the impression they created.”
No contact since Dec 8
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Al Jazeera that Iran has not yet been able to establish relations with the new Syrian government, and he attributed this to what he described as the “impression they created.” Al-Jafal responded that Syria’s stance toward Iranian policy “was not a transient political stance,” but the result of “fourteen years of war, killing, displacement, and destruction, and Iran’s role in supporting the Assad regime.” Al-Jafal argued that Iran’s stance beside the previous regime “at the expense of the Syrian people” contributed to complicating the crisis and bringing more woes to Syrians, and he said this “cannot be ignored when talking about relations between the two countries.”
Al-Jafal said “Syria today is not a sphere of influence for any country,” and he added that Syria’s foreign relations will be based on “mutual respect, national interests, and parity.” The sources said relations between Iran and Syria fell to their lowest point after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024, and that there has been no direct meeting or telephone contact between the two sides since then.
Islamic values and trust
Al-Jafal said that Islamic teachings are not political slogans, but values translated into justice, fairness, rejection of oppression, and respect for human dignity. Al-Jafal said Syria does not seek hostility with any country nor subordination to any country, and he described Syria’s approach as balanced relations that respect its sovereignty and the choices of its people. The Syrian Foreign Ministry adviser Mohammad Al-Jalal said building any future relationship with Iran requires Tehran to respect Syria’s sovereignty and the will of its people, in addition to revising its previous policies characterized by interference in Syrian affairs.
The sources said Damascus is waiting for real changes in Iran’s approach if Tehran wishes to establish a new relationship with Syria. The sources also said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was among the last visitors who met with Bashar al-Assad days before the regime fell, and that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was among the last Iranian officials to visit Syria before the regime’s fall, meeting with Assad days before his overthrow.