Before ouster, Assad told Iran that Turkey was aiding rebels

TEHRAN,—In the days before his dramatic ouster, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed frustration to Iran’s foreign minister, accusing Turkey of backing Sunni rebels intent on overthrowing him, according to two senior Iranian officials who spoke to Reuters.

Assad, whose family ruled Syria for five decades, fled to Moscow on Sunday, where he was granted asylum. His departure marks a significant setback for the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance,” an alliance opposing U.S. and Israeli influence in the region.

As Islamist fighters from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, formerly linked to al-Qaida, captured key cities and advanced toward Damascus, Assad held a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on December 2, 2024.

During the meeting, Assad reportedly accused Turkey of intensifying its efforts to remove him from power, according to a senior Iranian official. In response, Araghchi assured Assad of continued Iranian support and pledged to raise the issue with Ankara, the official told Reuters.

The following day, Araghchi met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to voice Tehran’s concerns over Turkey’s alleged backing of the rebels.

“The discussions were tense,” said another Iranian official, adding that Iran criticized Turkey for aligning with what it described as U.S. and Israeli interests. “We conveyed Assad’s concerns about Turkey’s role in the offensive.”

A Turkish Foreign Ministry source disputed the characterization of the talks, denying that Araghchi had delivered any direct messages from Assad. The source declined to elaborate further. Speaking to reporters in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday, Fidan said Assad’s government had “wasted valuable time” addressing Syria’s crises, leading to the “systematic collapse” of the regime.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weighed in Wednesday, blaming Assad’s fall on a plot orchestrated by the United States and Israel. Khamenei also hinted that a neighboring country was involved, appearing to reference Turkey without naming it directly.

Turkey, a NATO member, has supported Syrian Islamist groups, which considered as mercenary fighters for Turkey as it use them around the world like Libya and Azerbaijan, since the civil war began in 2011 and controls large areas in the Kurdish region in northern Syria following military operations against Kurdish militias.

Ankara has long sought to unseat Assad, accusing him of fueling the conflict through oppressive policies and refusing meaningful peace talks.

Assad’s removal is a blow to Tehran and its ally Hezbollah, which relied on the Syrian government to maintain a critical land corridor linking Iran to Lebanon. This route has been vital for supplying weapons to Hezbollah.

During the war, Iran invested billions of dollars to bolster Assad’s regime and deployed members of its Revolutionary Guard to Syria. Hezbollah also contributed fighters to support Assad, but its forces were recently redeployed to Lebanon to confront Israel in an escalating conflict.

The redeployment weakened Assad’s defenses, paving the way for the rebel advances that ultimately led to his ouster.

(With files from Reuters)