Iran blames fall of Assad on Israel, US, 'neighboring country'
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei apparently referred to Turkey, a supporter of the rebels, as the 'neighboring country' involved, while putting the weight of responsibility on the US and Israel
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke for the first time on Wednesday about the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, assigning blame on the US, Israel, and a "neighboring country."
"There is no doubt that the main factor behind the events in Syria was orchestrated in the command rooms of the American and Israeli regimes," he said in a speech, parts of which were published on his X account. According to Khamenei, Tehran has evidence of this involvement.
His comments, published in full on the Iranian news site Iran Nuances, apparently alluded to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkey's involvement in supporting Syrian rebels. "The government of a country neighboring Syria has also played a role, but the main conspirators are America and the Zionist regime."
In the meantime, a Turkish official informed Reuters that the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Turkey on Friday where he will meet with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara. An English-speaking Al-Arabiya journalist indicated that the two men will discuss a potential agreement between the Kurdish forces supported by the United States and the rebels supported by Turkey.
The spokesperson for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said on Tuesday night during a press conference at the White House that the fall of Assad is directly linked to the weakening of his main supporters, namely Iran and Russia. It is also directly tied to October 7th and the failure to conclude a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as Russian involvement in Syria, he added – it is not that Russia and Iran did not want to help Assad, they were not capable.