One of Iran’s leading preachers has called Syria the country’s “35th strategic province” and said it has a higher priority than Khuzestan, the formerly autonomous oil-rich Arab-majority province in the southwest.
“If the enemy attacks us and wants to appropriate either Syria or Khuzestan, the priority is that we keep Syria,” Mehdi Taeb, the head of the Amar Yasser strategic headquarters which was established to fight the ‘soft war’ against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Taeb added: “If we keep Syria, we can get Khuzestan back too, but if we lose Syria, we cannot keep Tehran … Syria had an army, but does not have the ability to manage a war inside Syria’s cities. It is for this reason the Iranian government suggested that Syria establish a Basij …The Syrian Basij was formed with 60,000 Hezbollahi who have taken over the war in the streets from the army.
“If you have money, then everything is sorted. But the problem is that as a result of the sanctions we have no money and without money we cannot bypass the sanctions.”
Taeb’s remarks confirm recent US reports that the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian regime have formed a militia network to protect their interests should Bashar al-Assad be toppled.
