Ahmed al-Shara: The Presence of Iranian Government Forces in Syria Was a Threat to the Region

Ahmed al-Shara, the interim president of Syria, states that the Islamic Republic of Iran's militias that were previously in Syria were not only harmful to the country but also posed a broader threat to the region. Ahmed al-Shara led the rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which took control of Damascus and several other cities in Syria last December, overthrowing the regime of Bashar al-Assad. According to National Public Radio (NPR), he mentioned in an interview with Syrian television that Iranian forces were used to destabilize Syria and its neighboring countries. The Syrian leader added that the presence of Iranian militias in the country during Assad's regime was a "strategic threat" to the entire region. The fall of Bashar al-Assad's government nearly ended the Islamic Republic of Iran's presence in Syria, with its militias fleeing the country, and the Iranian embassy in Damascus still remains closed. This is just one of the Islamic Republic's and its proxy groups' failures in the region. In recent months, Israel has dealt heavy blows to Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both groups supported by the Iranian government. Meanwhile, the Houthis in Yemen, another group backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region, have also faced extensive attacks from the U.S. and Israel. Ahmed al-Shara's remarks in the NPR interview emphasize his transitional government's efforts to re-establish relations between Syria and most countries in the world. The previous Syrian regime had been heavily dependent on the Islamic Republic and distanced itself from the West for several decades, but the new Syrian leader is working hard to improve the country's strained relations, especially with its neighbors. The interim president of Syria stated that elections may be held in five years. At least 15 people were killed in a car bomb explosion in Syria. Ahmed al-Shara embarked on his first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia.