‘Syrian regime bound to collapse,’ says former Revolutionary Guards Commander

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

‘Iran must seek replacement for Bashar Assad’

The Syrian regime is nearing its demise and Iran needs to look for new alternatives to the Assad regime as its partner, says a former high-ranking commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.

In a piece that appeared on Iranian Diplomacy, a website run by former Iranian ambassador to the United Nations and France Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Kharazi, former IRGC Navy chief Hossein Alaei said the current trend in Syria would eventually lead to the Assad regime’s downfall.

According the United Nations, since the outbreak of anti-government demonstrations in March, the Syrian regime’s heavy-handed crackdown on protesters has claimed at least 5,000 lives while thousands more are said to have been wounded or imprisoned.

“The structure of the Syrian state has two problems. One is that they are very old and worn out. In the current system, even regime officials, with the exception of Bashar Assad, are fed up. Many of these people do not have the required enthusiasm for the regime to continue,” Alaei argued. “Syria’s form of government is from the time of the Cold War. They belong to a world when the two superpowers, the former Soviet Union and the [United States of] America, ran the world. At that time, many countries of the Eastern Bloc were under single party rule reliant on the security and military apparatus. The age of such structures has come to an end and, in fact, the time of dictatorships in the Middle East in general has come to an end too.”

During Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq in the eighties, Brigadier General Hossein Alaei, the first commander of the IRGC navy at the time of its formation in 1985, turned into an important figure among Guard commanders.

“In Syria, the population does not want the current establishment. Even the minorities are putting up with the situation only because they’re anxious about the future. Not even they can accept the situation,” he added. “The majority of Syrians want the system to change.”

“Even individuals within the [Syrian] regime prefer a democratic system over a dictatorial one. So even if you ask people living under dictatorial regimes about the topic, you will see that they prefer a democracy too … Usually, people who live under dictatorships compare their conditions with people who live under more democratic systems and always prefer the [more democratic] systems. In those systems, people have more freedom; there are more opportunities for economic activity; people have access to more comfort, etc. … Dictatorial regimes not only deprive people of liberty, but also have no regard for the people’s well-being.”

Alaei argued that the Syrian regime had become increasingly isolated as a result of its brutal crackdown on dissenters, adding that the decision by Russia and China to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution against Syria was temporary. “Their objection to regime change in Syria is not based on principle … They’re after settling scores with the US and have no interest in keeping Bashar Assad [in power]. For Russia and China, the important issue is the scores they wish to settle with the US and the West.”

The retired IRGC commander projected that Russia would eventually abandon its support for the Syrian regime on the international stage, just as it voted in favour of UN resolutions against Iran over of its nuclear programme.

Alaei predicted that the international sanctions on Syria would put a stranglehold on the country’s economy, making it even more difficult for the government to pay the salaries of its employees.

He also questioned the importance of Syria in the struggle against Israeli aggression in the region. “Does Syria really play an important role in the issue of resistance?” he asked. “Or does the Syrian government use the issue of resistance as a raison d’être? … Another question is whether our national interest is [best] served by supporting governments like Syria? Are there other ways for developing and strengthening the country’s national security?”

He dismissed the notion that Assad’s downfall would weaken the front against Israel. “If elections are held in Syria, the majority will rise to power. Will this majority accommodate to Israel? This is not possible. If the majority rises [to power], the Golan [Hheights] will be liberated from Israeli occupation sooner than if Bashar Assad’s regime stays.”

“In my opinion, the probability of Bashar Assad remaining [in power] is decreasing,” Alaei maintained. “I believe that we’ve got to assume that this dictatorship is nearing its end. Therefore Iran must not place its eggs in Bashar Assad’s basket. Iran must help democratisation in the Islamic World. Islam is against dictatorship and injustice. Islam does not accept dictatorship and oppression anywhere. Islam is against the murder of innocent people. Just as we are against the killing of Shiites at the hand of Sunnis and communalists in Homs, Aleppo and Iraq, we’re also against the killing of Sunnis at the hands of dictators. We are on the side of the oppressed and oppose oppression.”

“I recommend that Iran rethink its policy of supporting dictatorships no matter where, including Bashar Assad … Iran must actively plan to replace the depleted dictatorship in Syria with an Islamic and democratic system.”

The brigadier general also slammed the Arab League’s double standards in dealing with pro-democracy movements in the Middle East, describing its actions as “dangerous.” “Why shouldn’t there [also] be democracy in Saudi Arabia and Qatar?”

In another article published by the conservative Ettelaat newspaper on Monday, the Iran-Iraq war veteran compared Iran’s Supreme Leader with the late Shah who was ousted from power following the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“The wrongful behaviour of the Shah’s security forces had amplified the people’s dissatisfaction with the monarchy and helped maintain it,” Alaei wrote. “As the number of people killed on the streets, imprisonments and political prisoners rose, the Shah’s regime essentially lost its grandeur too.”

Just hours after the article’s publication, the former admiral came under fire from a number of pro-regime websites. One such site called him a “hyena” who had attempted to discredit the Islamic Revolution by comparing it to the Pahlavi Dynasty.

In an apparent reference to the illegal house arrest of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, Alaei wrote that after being forced into exile in January 1979, the Shah probably asked himself, “If instead of placing prominent [political leaders] under house arrest and exiling them to remote cities and imprisoning political activists I had paved the way for a dialogue, would I have been forced to flee the country?”
Prior to Iran’s widely disputed 2009 presidential election, Alaei had been cited as saying that during the Iran-Iraq war, then prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi had “created a war economy that helped us fight Saddam Hussein.” “The country was stable, inflation was low . . . there was war, but nobody was hungry. We all respect him for his management.”

In mid-February 2011, Karroubi and Mousavi, were placed under an illegal and arbitrary house arrest after calling for protests in solidarity with the Arab Spring. Thus far, no formal charges have been put forth against them. Human rights groups say their continued captivity and maltreatment is inconsistent not only with human rights provisions, but also with Iran’s own constitution.
 

GVF — The Syrian regime is nearing its demise and Iran needs to look for new alternatives to the Assad regime as its partner, says a former high-ranking commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.

In a piece that appeared on Iranian Diplomacy, a website run by a website run by former Iranian ambassador to the United Nations and France Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Kharazi, former IRGC Navy chief Hossein Alaei said the current trend in Syria would eventually lead to the Assad regime’s downfall.

According the United Nations, since the start of anti-government demonstrations in March the Syrian regime’s heavy-handed crackdown on protesters has claimed at least 5,000 lives while thousands more are said to have been wounded or imprisoned.

“The structure of the Syrian state has two problems. One is that these structures are very old and worn out. In the current system, even regime officials, with the exception of Bashar Assad, are fed up. Many of these people do not have the required zeal for the regime to continue,” Alaei argued. “The form of the government in Syria is from the time of the cold war. They belong to a world when the two superpowers, the former Soviet Union and the [United States of] America, governed the world’s affairs. At that time, many countries of the eastern bloc had a single party rule reliant on the security and military apparatus. The age of such structures has come to an end, and in fact, the time of dictatorships in the Middle East in general has come to an end too.”

During Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq in the eighties, Brigadier General Hossein Alaei, the first top commander of the IRGC navy at the time of its formation in 1985, turned into an important figure among Guard commanders.

“In Syria, the population does not want the current establishment. Even the minorities are putting up with the situation only because they’re concerned about the future. Not even they can accept the situation,” he added. “The majority of Syrians want the system to change.”

“Even individuals within the [Syrian] regime prefer a democratic system over a dictatorial one. So even if you ask people living under dictatorial regimes about the topic, you will see that they prefer a democracy too … Usually, people who live under dictatorships compare their conditions with people who live under more democratic systems and always prefer the [more democratic] systems. Because in those systems, people have more freedom; there are more opportunities for economic activity; people have access to more comfort, etc. … Dictatorial regimes not only deprive people of liberty, but also have no regard for the people’s comfort.”

Alaei argued that the Syrian regime had become increasingly isolated as a result of its brutal clampdown on dissenters, adding that the decision by Russia and China to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution against Syria was temporary. “Their objection to regime change in Syria is not based on principle … they’re after settling scores with the US and have no interest in keeping Bashar Assad [in power]. For Russia and China the important issue is the scores they wish to settle with the US and the West.”

The retired IRGC commander projected that Russia would eventually abandon its support for the Syrian regime on the international stage, just as it voted in favour of UN resolutions against Iran over of its nuclear programme.

Alaei predicted that the international sanctions on Syria would exert a stranglehold on the country’s economy, making it even more difficult for the government to pay the salaries of its employees.

He also questioned the importance of Syria in the struggle against Israeli aggression in the region. “Does Syria really play an important role in the issue of resistance?” he asked. “Or does the Syrian government use the issue of resistance as a raison d’être? … Another question is whether our national interest is [best] preserved by means of supporting governments like Syria? Are there other ways for developing and strengthening the country’s national security?”

He dismissed the notion that Assad’s downfall would weaken the front against Israel. “If elections are held in Syria, the majority will rise to power. Will this majority get along with Israel? This is not possible. If the majority rises [to power], the Golan [heights] will be liberated from Israeli occupation sooner than if Bashar Assad’s regime stays.”

“In my opinion, the likelihood that Bashar Assad will stay [in power] is on the decline,” Alaei maintained. “I believe that we’ve got to assume that this dictatorship is nearing its end. Therefore Iran must not place its eggs in Bashar Assad’s basket. Iran must help democratisation in the Islamic World. Islam is against dictatorship and injustice. Islam does not accept dictatorship and oppression anywhere. Islam is against the murder of innocent people. Just as we are against the killing of Shiites at the hand of Sunnis and sectarianists in Homs, Aleppo and Iraq, we’re also against the killing of Sunnis at the hands of dictators. We are on the side of the oppressed and oppose oppression.”

“I recommend that Iran rethink its policy of supporting dictatorships no matter where, including Bashar Assad … Iran must actively plan to replace the depleted dictatorship in Syria with an Islamic and democratic system.”

The brigadier general also slammed the Arab League’s double standards in dealing with pro-democracy movements in the Middle East, describing its actions as “dangerous.” “Why shouldn’t there [also] be democracy in Saudi Arabia and Qatar?”

In another article published by the conservative Ettelaat newspaper on Monday, the Iran-Iraq war veteran compared Iran’s Supreme Leader with the late Shah who was ousted from power following the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“The wrongful behaviour of the Shah’s security forces had amplified the people’s dissatisfaction with the monarchy and helped maintain it,” Alaei wrote. “As the number of people killed on the streets, imprisonments and political prisoners rose, the Shah’s regime essentially lost its grandeur too.”

Just hours after the article’s publication, the former admiral came under fire from a number of pro-regime websites. One such site called him a “hyena” who had attempted to discredit the Islamic Revolution by comparing it to the Pahlavi Dynasty.

In an apparent reference to the illegal house arrest of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, Alaei wrote that after being forced into exile in January 1979, the Shah probably asked himself, “If instead of placing prominent [political leaders] under house arrest and exiling them to remote cities and imprisoning political activists I had paved the way for a dialogue, would I have been forced to flee the country?”

Prior to Iran’s widely disputed 2009 presidential election, Alaei had been cited as saying that during the Iran-Iraq war, then prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi had “created a war economy that helped us fight Saddam Hussein.” “The country was stable, inflation was low . . . there was war, but nobody was hungry. We all respect him for his management.”

In mid-February 2011, Karroubi and Mousavi, were placed under an illegal and arbitrary house arrest after calling for protests in solidarity with the Arab Spring. Thus far, no formal charges have been put forth against them. Human rights groups say their continued captivity and maltreatment is inconsistent not only with human rights provisions, but also with Iran’s own constitution.

Click HERE to read more.