Iran–Syria relations

3 weeks ago - Although Iran was deeply ambivalent about the American-led intervention to remove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, Syria participated in the coalition of nations to fight Iraq. Still, these disagreements never threatened to derail the relationship. The alliance deepened in 2000 when Hafez's son Bashar al-Assad took over as President of Syria. Subsequent events like the Iraq War, the "Cedar Revolution", and the 2006 Lebanon War brought the countries closer together.

Syria’s deeper ties to · Iran stem from Damascus’s growing alliance with (and reliance on) Hezbollah, its own · serious economic woes, and its continued isolation from the West. Indeed, Bashar has · encouraged the relationship to blossom at the expense of Syria’s Arab alliances—perhaps

July 9, 2024 - Since the inception of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the relationship between Iran and Syria has been notably strong. This alliance was further solidified during the tumultuous period of the Syrian civil war, which commenced in 2011.

3 weeks ago - From the 2000s until the fall of the Assad regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic were close strategic allies, and Iran provided significant support for the Syrian Ba'athist government in the Syrian civil war, including ...

June 2, 2025 - As such, he will seek to avoid any actions or overtures toward Iran that could jeopardize his efforts to build trust and cooperation with Western powers. ... reported by the National, an Abu Dhabi-based media outlet, on May 20, Iranian officials have acknowledged being in “indirect” communication with Syria’s relatively new government, with Turkey and Qatar acting as intermediaries.

Syria was the only Arab country that have explicitly stood by Iran during the bloody Iran–Iraq War (1980–88). While Syria is supposedly secular, the alliance has been cemented with a measure of religious and ideological affinity: Syria's Alawite leadership, was acknowledged as Shia by the Lebanese Shiite cleric Musa al-Sadr in the 1970s, and important Shia shrines and memorials are located in Damascus.

The two regimes share common traits. They are both authoritarian and defiantly · independent, even at a political or economic cost. Iran is predominantly Shiite. Although Syria is predominantly Sunni Muslim, its ruling family is Alawite, a

May 12, 2025 - That political alignment grew into ... past decade, the relationship has evolved into what many analysts describe as a “strategic symbiosis.”...

Israel against the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement, and Iran’s support for the · Bashar al-Assad regime since the eruption of the Syrian crisis in March 2011. Secondly, it has · proven to be an enduring relationship that has lasted 34 years in spite of the many challenges that

July 18, 2006 - Experts say the two countries share little ideologically, yet are increasingly cooperating out of necessity. These experts see a new boldness in the way both countries are exerting their influence in the region.

July 31, 2025 - The deployment of IRGC Ground Forces to conflict abroad is a notable expansion of Iran’s willingness and ability to project military force beyond its borders. Iran has been providing essential military supplies to Assad, primarily by air.

In the Syrian- Iranian · alliance, the conditions for cooperation were carefully balanced over an asymmetrical regional · position. When it comes to their comprehensive national power in terms of population, territory, natural resources, size of army, and navy and air force, Iran is obviously superior to Syria.6 However,

War reporter Itai Anghel finds piles of classified files, speaks to Syrian soldiers, and meets a Syrian Jew in ‘Uvda’ documentary aired Monday ... In what is likely a signal to Iran, former rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa visits Riyadh in bid to rebuild ties with Gulf giant after years of Iranian dominance in Damascus

Nevertheless, since the civil war in Syria erupted in March 2011, Iran has been one of the key supporters of the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad, and has maintained significant influence over the evolution of the conflict.

August 5, 2025 - Although Russia and Iran have converged around the overarching objective of strengthening the Assad regime, Moscow and Tehran’s engagement in Syria illustrates a complex mosaic of overlapping interests, broader regional entanglements, and contending approaches to post-war reconstruction. Russia and Iran’s visions on the future of Syria include diverging views on military reform and economic investment. However, these disagreements are unlikely to lead to a breakdown of the relationship.

May 2, 2025 - The deals were part of a growing Iranian investment in Syria in the years ahead of the 2011 uprising against Assad, as U.S. sanctions shut off both countries to the West. They were the fruit of a relationship dating back to the Iranian revolution of 1979, which led to the overthrow of the Shah and the establishment of the Islamic Republic.

And while the Ukraine invasion has made Moscow dependent on Tehran's military support, rather than lead to any disengagement from Syria, this strategic reconfiguration has intensified the Iranian-Russian security collaboration in general and in Syria in particular.

February 5, 2025 - Additionally, Russia’s ability to leverage Assad’s frozen assets and the Khmeimim Air Base near Latakia give Moscow certain cards that the Iranians do not possess. There are no guarantees that the HTS-led government will consolidate its power across all of Syria and establish strong state institutions. The state could prove weak, with many non-state actors outside Damascus’s control governing different parts of the country. Under those conditions, it would not be difficult to imagine Tehran stepping up its relationship with the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) militia in eastern Syria or building up Shi’ite/Alawite militias along Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

June 5, 2024 - Despite Syria’s and the Assad ... more overt challenges. Since the eruption of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Iran has staunchly supported Assad, providing him with direct and indirect political, military, and economic ...