By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Even as the United States and much of the Arab world condemn President Bashar al-Assad’s use of violence in cracking down on dissidents, Syria retains a small cadre of backers.  Since late July, Iran has been vocal in its support for the embattled Middle Eastern nation.  Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki spoke out in favor of more peaceful means of action by the demonstrators, blaming the protesters for the present situation.

Iran and Syria have been longtime allies in the Middle East.  On July 24, Iran’s First Vice President, Mohammad Reza Rahimi said that his country would stand strongly alongside Syria during a meeting with Syrian Oil Minister Sufian Allaw.  Rahimi declared Iran and Syria to be “…two inseparable countries and allies,” adding that “…Iran will stand by its friend under all conditions.”

Since then, both countries have strengthened their rhetoric, particularly against the United States and the Western world.  This has been especially noticeable over the past week.  On August 7, Hamed Hassan, the Syrian Ambassador to Tehran, said that he considered the present state of his country to be the result of a foreign conspiracy.

“Americans are pushing for hegemony over the region and the disintegration of regional governments is in line with the interest of the Zionist regime,” Hassan told a press roundtable on Syrian unrest at the Iran Cultural and Press Institute (ICPI).  “Syria does not pay heed to foreign hegemony and the Zionist policies in the region.”

Three days later, senior Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi accused the United States of doing the same thing.  “Having lost Egypt [following the Egyptian revolution], the US is now targeting Syria,” Boroujerdi said during a meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi.  “The US aims to defeat the resistance in order to achieve its objectives and the [objectives of the] Zionist regime [of Israel]. [Therefore] Syria must be helped to end the unrest in the country.”

Unlike Iran, Iraq has not historically been an ally of Syria’s.  When sectarian violence was rampant in Iraq following the American invasion of 2003, Syria was blamed for not doing enough to keep militants and suicide bombers out of the country.  The shift in relations began with Maliki’s rise to power in Iraq, which was due in large part to support from Iran, who urged Assad to support him.  Maliki has since won a second term as Prime Minister.

“Maliki is very reliant on Iran for his power and Iran is backing Syria all the way,” Joost Hiltermann, the International Crisis Group’s deputy program director for the Middle East, told the New York Times.  “The Iranians and the Syrians were all critical to bringing him to power a year ago and keeping him in power so he finds himself in a difficult position.”

Since then, Iraq and Syria have been working to strengthen their relations.  On July 25, the three countries signed an agreement to build a pipeline that would supply Iranian natural gas to Iraq and Syria.  The project is expected to cost an estimated $10 billion over the next three to five years.

But within Iraq, the alliance has reignited sectarian divides in Iraq and jeopardizes the government’s recently restored functionality.  Maliki’s Shiite regime claims that the Syrian protesters were Al Qaeda operatives, who would be in position to use the country as a base to launch attacks if Assad were to fall.  Within the Sunni-dominated Iraqiya bloc of the Iraqi government, the assessment is very different.

“What is happening in Syria is not because of a terrorist group, as some say, that is not accurate,” said Jaber al-Jabri, a member of the Iraquiya. “There are whole towns rising up to demonstrate against the regime. We call on the Syrian government to listen to the people’s demands and to stop violence against their people.”

The new alliance between Iraq and Syria also creates a potentially dangerous situation for Israel.  According to Hossein Ebrahimi, the deputy chairman of the Majlis (Iranian Parliament) Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, the Jewish state is now bordered by at least three countries (Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria) that are presently in a state of revolution.  “The Zionist regime is collapsing,” he said.

For more information, please see:

New York Times — Iraqi Leader Backs Syria, With a Nudge From Iran — 12 August 2011

PressTV — Iran MP urges Pro-Syria front against US — 11 August 2011

PressTV — Defend Syria from US meddling: Iran MP — 10 August 2011

Iran Daily — Syria Envoy Blames Foreign Powers for Turmoil — 8 August 2011

Iran Daily — Iran, Iraq, Syria Sign Gas Deal — 26 July 2011

Iran Daily — Rahimi Voices Support for Assad’s Syria — 26 July 2011

PressTV — Iran Vows Support for Syria — 24 July 2011