Iran’s fragile empire is crumbling – Syrian rebels’ blitz on Putin & Assad is next domino to fall, says ex-ambassador
Following the rebels’ quick blitz, a former US ambassador claimed that Syria will be the next domino to fall in Iran’s collapsing empire.
Rapidly advancing militants, such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, could force the Ayatollah’s friends, Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad, to leave the nation.
It’s the Iranians’ most recent misstep after Israel severely criticized Hamas and Hezbollah after the terror incident on October 7.
Iran is currently battling for its existence, according to Ambassador Mark Wallace, CEO of United Against NuclearIran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the former US ambassador to the UN, only has a “tenuous” hold on power.
By inciting strife in nations and allowing extremists to take over territory, Iran has utilized its proxy armies to impose its domination in the area.
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“I believe that if you were giving the Ayatollah advice at this time, you would say, ‘Our proxies are in danger, they’re crumbling, we have to beat a hasty retreat,'” Wallace told The Sun.
“I think they [Iran] are defending that same hegemony to prevent the fall of their fragile empire.”
Corruption, its economy, and the war with Israel have weakened Iran to the point where it is unable to defend its proxy friends.
He claimed that Iran’s vulnerability and Assad’s “house of cards” had given the Syrian rebels an opportunity to attack.
Wallace went on to say that the Ayatollah’s hold on power and the ideology that underpins the government deteriorate along with each of Iran’s proxies.
“As each of its proxies fails, the weakness of the Ayatollah and his allies will be exposed,” Wallace stated.
Syrian rebels celebrate in streets after capturing Hama
“Their own people, who hate the oppression of the Ayatollah, will be emboldened to rise up against them.”
However, the envoy added that the overthrow of Assad was not entirely positive because a “Islamic state” might take his place.
Fighting could bring down the beast. In 2013, as he clung desperately to power during the civil war, Assad used the nerve toxin sarin to gas his own people.
ISIS and al-Qaeda fighters founded HTS, which has enslaved women via sexual exploitation.
Wallace stated: “They [HTS] still believe in the brutal repression of women and minorities and other religions, and I don’t believe that there is room for a radical Islamic Caliphate in the region.”
Additionally, Turkey supports the rebels, even if Iran might be pushed to remove Syria from its sphere of influence.
Wallace claimed that Turkey doesn’t behave like a “normal ally” because of its support for HTS and other foreign policy choices.
“I have personally advocated for Turkey’s expulsion from NATO,” he stated.
“I think Erdogan should be considered to be sanctioned, designated, much less be a legitimate standing member of Nato.”
Wallace asserted that although the West required Turkey’s support in the fight against Russia, it shouldn’t support “massive bloodshed” in the area.
According to him, the West need to force Iran into a succession crisis and face it head-on while it is weak.
“There have only been two Ayatollahs in history,” he stated.
“Soon there will have to be a third and if there isn’t a third there will be no Iran as we know it, and the people of Iran will be free.”
Tehran said Friday it would send drones and missiles to Syria to help its partner, along with many military and intelligence advisors.
‘No one saw it coming’
According to former military intelligence officer Philip Ingram, no one saw a resurgence of the conflict following the signing of a truce in 2020.
He claimed that because Putin’s intelligence services were preoccupied with winning the war in Ukraine, they failed his buddy, Assad.
Ingram stated: “The preparations for this [offensive] and everything else will have got potentially lost in the noise or not seen as being as significant.”
The removal of its buddy, Assad, will now be a major concern for the Kremlin.
He continued: “The response by Assad’s forces, backed by the Russians and the Iranians, has been woeful to date.”
“The Russians are providing air support against the advancing militants, so that doesn’t mean Assad will fall,” Ingram continued.
He continued: “But they [Russia] haven’t had to do anything since there was a ceasefire signed in 2020 and therefore some of their assets will have been stripped out to go and support Ukraine and it would be difficult for Putin to surge assets in to back up.”
The geopolitical analyst added that Putin would be too overburdened to send troops because he is losing over 2,000 soldiers per day in Ukraine.
However, Syria is crucial to the Kremlin because it allowed Russia to establish a presence in the Middle East for its immediate needs.
He stated: “It’s challenging for Putin because Syria holds great significance for him, not only because he has his Mediterranean fleet stationed there but also because they have some advanced training facilities there.
“And he’s backed Assad through a lot of the [civil] war so far, but he also uses it [Syria] as a massive intelligence base across the Middle East.”
As the dictator’s army continues to retreat, Bloomberg reported on Friday that the Kremlin has no plan to defend Assad and does not see one developing.
According to Ingram, Turkey, which supports HTS, would have been observing Iran’s decline in power during the war with Israel.
They then had the chance to overthrow Assad and achieve its overarching strategic objective of crushing the Kurds.
Erdogan expressed his hope that the rebels will arrive in Damascus without any problems or mishaps.
Inside Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
The largest opposition group in the rebel offensive, Operation Deterrence of Aggression, is the Sunni Muslim movement known as HTS.
Originally founded in 2012 under the name Jabhat al-Nusra, the group later changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of HTS, was a member of al-Qaeda and fought against the United States in Iraq during the US invasion in 2003.
He served with the Islamic State of Iraq from 2006 to 2012 while incarcerated in infamous US detention facilities such as Abu Ghraib.
After the 2011 revolt against Assad, he returned to Syria and founded the Jabhat al-Nusra by 2012.
The Nusra Front is credited as being founded by the well-known terrorist organization ISIS, whose insane leader calls it a Syrian subordinate.
In 2017, Jabhat al-Nusra changed its name to Hay at Tahrir al-Sham after merging with another organization.
Since the US views the group and its leadership as a terrorist organization, the newly established HTS included devoted al-Qaeda members in its ranks.
Then, in the territory it held in Syria, it began to crack down on Islamic State cells and al-Qaeda militants.
Similar to ISIS and al-Qaeda, HTS has an extensive history of sexually abusing women and girls.
Men have reportedly coerced women and girls into marriage, human trafficking, and sex slavery.
In the horrific violations of human rights, some have even been known to be given as “gifts” to commanders.
After being sold by her own uncle for $5,000 while under HTS control, one woman had described the anguish she had experienced.
She described to Al-Monitor how she was brought to a home where a woman was operating a prostitution ring after being purchased.
She claimed that she had been raped on multiple occasions and sold to the man who had purchased her.
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The teenager stated: “I told my uncle about what I was going through in this house but he did nothing to save me.”
Surprisingly, victims have also been trafficked for organs in Idlib.
Syrian rebels storm Assad s palace and rifle through dictator s bedroom drawers
Syrian rebels can be seen on camera breaking into Bashar al-Assad’s palace and searching through the drawers in his bedroom.
The brutal dictator’s humiliating video was released last week, just as Islamist forces took control of Aleppo, the nation’s second city.
With the declaration that “terror only understands the language of power, and we will break it with it,” Assad vowed to fight back when his house was taken.
Insurgents are seen on camera exploring the opulent residence that seems to be Assad’s palace.
Clad in balaclavas and brandishing AK-47s, the combatants move through opulent bedrooms and an en suite, gathering objects from the dresser and inspecting cabinets.
They respectfully put things back where they found them and don’t wreck the house.
Their unexpected attack, which began just a few days ago, caught Assad off guard and has now taken control of dozens of towns and hundreds of miles of terrain.
Since the troops of the Syrian Salvation Government (HTS) make the president appear weak, the attack directly threatens Assad’s control.
Video captured the throng surrounding the statue of Bassel al-Assad in Aleppo’s Basel Square on Saturday before the former Syrian presidential heir was torn down from his horse.
Click here to view the video.
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