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Former Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and advisor to Khamenei, Mohammad Javad Larijani, in a December 7, 2024 appearance on IRINN TV (Iran), discussed the volatile situation in Syria on the eve of Bashar Al-Assad's regime collapse. He criticized Foreign Minister Araghchi and Iranian diplomatic efforts for their "fluid" and weak stance regarding Syria, as well as their failure to focus on supporting Syria and the resistance. Larijani stated that events in Syria have been orchestrated by the Zionist regime, the Americans, and the Turkish government, and while Turkey is playing the leading role, it is the United States and Israel that are benefiting.
He argued that Syria and the resistance, which have played a "big part" in the resistance axis, were a significant problem for them. Larijani also mentioned that HTS leader Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani had assured Iraqis that the group does not have Iraq in its sights. However, Larijani contended that they do, in fact, have plans for Iraq, drawing a parallel to how the Americans treated Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He stated that while the U.S. and others label Al-Jolani and HTS as terrorists, they support him and will eventually abandon him, just as they did with Al-Qaeda after the attack on Afghanistan. He concluded by saying that Iran should not propose dialogue with the "legitimate opposition," as they are "murderous terrorists."
Mohammad Javad Larijani: "The question is who are the behind-the-scene players, who are orchestrating what is happening?
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"There are the Americans, the Zionist regime, and the Turkish government. Turkey is playing the leading role, but the U.S. and the Zionist regime are ahead in reaping the fruits.
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"They think that they can weaken the resistance, which has constituted a great problem in the region for them—and Syria has played a crucial part in the resistance axis—and that they turn to draw limits for Hizbullah.
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"The Turkish government's interest are not yet clear.
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"An important point is that we should not think that the resistance will be destroyed by these developments, or that it will disappear or be uprooted.
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"In his interview, [Iranian Foreign Minister] Araghchi described the situation in Syria as 'fluid,' and in a way, refrained from taking an official position. I think that his own position is more fluid than the events in Syria. The fluidity of the situation...We must be decisive in defending the regime, the people, and the resistance in Syria. It is not important whether they are fluid or not.
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"Even a dialogue with the 'legitimate opposition' should not be proposed by us. Perhaps it could be part of internal recommendations."
Interviewer: "Can't this appear or analyzed as a change in our position? The terminology that we are using in our reporting, and which was widely criticized on social media—sometimes we use 'terrorist' and other times we say 'militant groups'...
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"Some may say that our position toward the situation in Syria has changed. Do you agree with this?"
Larijani: "No, I do not. Our position toward the resistance remains unchanged.
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"We never entered Syria as an occupying force. We are not like the Erdoğan government or the United States, who occupied part of the land [of Syria]. No...We had advisors there.
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"We defend the resistance just like in the past. Syria in an indivisible part of the resistance.
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"They are certainly not a legitimate opposition. They are murderous terrorists that have committed many beheadings. This cannot be forgotten. So the Islamic Republic's position has not changed. There seems to be some weakness in conveying our position. Our diplomacy should be centered around the resistance.
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"The resistance had a huge victory in Syria [in 2014], but some of this victory is being lost right now, but we will regain these victories because there were reasons for them.
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"Their leader [Al-Jolani] sends a message to the Iraqis, saying that they would leave Iraq alone if Iraq left them alone. However, they are definitely concerned with Iraq. They have plans for the region, but they will not reap its fruits. This Al-Jolani guy—or whatever his name is—is just like Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda. [The Americans] used Bin Laden, and took advantage of him, and then they dumped him, once they attacked Afghanistan.
"This [Al-Jolani] is the same. The Americans are saying that (the HTS) are terrorists and they do not recognize them, but they are supporting him [Al-Jolani] to further his agenda. Therefore, we should not see everything as a done deal, and think that everything is lost, and that there is no way to confront these terrorists."
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