Iranian President Hassan Rouhani insisted in an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday that Iran would continue to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as long as ISIS and other terrorist groups still operate in Syria.
Look, in a county where a large segment of the country has been occupied by terrorists, and there is bloodshed inside the country, millions of people have been displaced, how is it possible that we fight the terrorists of this country without supporting and helping the government of that country? How can we fight the terrorists without the government staying? Of course, after we have fought terrorism and a secure environment is created, then it is time to talk about the constitution, or the future regime to talk and discuss opposition groups and supporters sit at the table, but during a situation of bloodshed and during an occupation of the country, what options exist?
Rouhani’s comments show his that backing Assad is a priority, one that Rouhani has been committed to since he became president two years ago. At that time, Rouhani pledged to “stand by [Syria] in facing all challenges.” He later ascribed opposition to the Assad regime, which repeatedly used chemical weapons on civilians, as a Western conspiracy, saying that “the West has a decision for the entire region and doesn’t like our region in its present shape and this is the reason that the British and the French are returning to the region after years… A study of the [present] conditions in Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Syria shows that the West has made a chain of them and seeks to strengthen Israel and weaken the resistance front.” The “resistance front” refers to Iran and its proxies, such as the terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas, which are seeking to destroy Israel.
Although Rouhani asserted on 60 Minutes that Iran wants to protect Syria from terrorists, evidence suggests that Iran actually benefits from ISIS’s presence in Syria and Iraq, providing Iran with a pretext to occupy those countries. Military expert Michael Pregent argued in Business Insider earlier this year that Iran was allowing ISIS to retain wide areas of Iraq and Syria so that Iran could claim “that their allies in both countries are the only thing preventing a jihadist takeover.”
Rouhani also claimed during the interview that the Iranian chant “Death to America” should not be taken “as a slogan against the American people.” However, Rouhani has publicly embraced hatred of America in many statements and actions. During his presidential campaign two years ago, Rouhani reportedly told supporters, “Saying ‘Death to America’ is easy. We need to express ‘Death to America’ with action.”
[Photo: CBS News ]