Remarks by Khamenei's Representative on 'Preserving Assad' and 'Transferring Basij Culture' to the Region

The representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps emphasized what he called the transfer of 'Basij culture in the region' and announced that 'preserving Bashar al-Assad' is among Iran's 'red lines' in Syria. According to the IRNA news agency, Ali Saeedi made this statement on Wednesday evening during a meeting with Ayatollah Abdolnabi Namazi, the representative of the Supreme Leader and Friday prayer leader of Kashan, in a conversation with reporters. Mr. Saeedi stated that 'defending the sanctity of the Ahl al-Bayt', 'preserving Syria in the resistance front', 'independence and territorial integrity', and 'preserving Bashar al-Assad' are four 'red lines' of the Islamic Republic in Syria. According to the representative of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the IRGC, 'When America wanted to create a transformation, it was created, but for five years it has been trying to change the ruling regime in Syria and separate this country from the resistance front, but it has not succeeded.' He claimed that the Iranian revolution is influential not only in 'the country but also at the regional and international levels', and that the Islamic Republic has been able to create transformations by transferring Basij culture in the region, including Syria. The Khabaronline website also published Saeedi's remarks, quoting him as saying that although 'the enemy was trying to separate Syria from the resistance front, today Syria and Iraq are serving Islam.' On September 8, Saeedi had also outlined Iran's red lines in Syria. According to ISNA, he had stated during a ceremony honoring and introducing the representative of the Supreme Leader in the Tharallah Corps of Kerman Province that 'preserving Bashar al-Assad is our fourth red line.' The representative of Mr. Khamenei in the IRGC added that the Islamic Republic has considered these four red lines 'with some differences' in Iraq as well. Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior advisor to the Supreme Leader on international affairs, has also previously declared the preservation of Bashar al-Assad as Iran's 'red line' and stated that Tehran does not intend to 'abandon Assad' in the battlefield and politics. In 2016, he also told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar that 'the Russian side is adamant about keeping Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, in his position. The Islamic Republic of Iran also has a firm will and determination to keep Assad, and this issue is a red line for us.' Velayati added: 'We have informed our Russian friends that we are determined on this matter; the Russians have also come to the conclusion that there is currently no alternative to Assad.' Bashar al-Assad's government has managed to overcome its opponents in various parts of Syria with the help of Russia and Iran, to the extent that Alexander Lapin, the chief of the Russian General Staff in Syria, recently claimed that the Syrian government currently controls '85 percent' of the country's territory. Iran has supported Bashar al-Assad since the beginning of the conflicts in Syria by sending its military forces and organizing Afghan and Pakistani forces residing in Iran to this country. Meanwhile, Tehran has repeatedly stated that it has only provided advisory support to the forces supporting Assad and has not intervened in this country. Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, thousands have been killed, injured, and displaced.