Today Syria…Tomorrow Iran
04/02/2012
By Tariq Alhomayed
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=2&id=28359

The above title is not my own wish, or expression, but rather this is
something that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said himself during the
recent “World Conference on Youth and Islamic Awakening” held in Tehran
under the auspices of the Iranian government and attended by thousands of
youth. This conference attempted to claim that the Arab revolutions are
following the path of Iran’s Khomeinist revolution; however this conference
did not go according to plan for Ahmadinejad.

This is because after images were shown during the conference of what
happened in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, in addition to other pictures
aimed at provoking Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Jordan, and Morocco; an
Iranian youth in the audience suddenly stood and held up a poster with one
word written on it, namely “SYRIA?”. In other words: what about Syria?

At this point, voices were raised repeating “God, freedom, and Syria!” Of
course, this youth was silenced by the conference organizers, and other
voices were raised repeating slogans defending the Bashar al-Assad regime.
When it was time for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to give his
speech, and upon reaching the podium, he told the audience “we must be
vigilant: the West is trying to foment sectarian conflict in our societies,
as part of their goal of keeping Israel alive.” He added “today Syria,
tomorrow your country” i.e. Iran.

Ahmadinejad is linking the safety and security of his own country with that
of the Bashar al-Assad regime, not vice versa; for rather than the tyrant of
Damascus saying that any threat to the Iranian regime weakens the al-Assad
regime, it was Ahmadinejad who said that al-Assad being targeted today would
mean Iran being targeted tomorrow. The meaning is clear; Ahmadinejad is well
aware that Iran will have no value and role in the region without the
subservience of the al-Assad regime; as the Syrian regime has facilitated
Iran’s presence in the region, particularly in Lebanon, and this is thanks
to Damascus’s support of the Iranian agent Hassan Nasrallah. This is
something that has made it easy for Iran and Syria to trade with the
Palestinian Cause, and continue their so-called fight against Israel by
promoting the “resistance” lie, which is something that has been proven
false. This is because this “resistance” is nothing more than an attempt to
infiltrate the region on the part of Iran, and its agents like the al-Assad
regime and Nasrallah.

Ahmadinejad’s statements that “Today Syria, tomorrow your country” means
that he is now well aware that the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime
will be akin to Iran losing its right hand with regards to foreign policy,
which would mean the complete failure of Tehran’s foreign policy since the
Khomeinist revolution. This is because Iran has thrown its entire weight
behind the sectarian regime in Syria, since the Hafez al-Assad era down to
the Bashar al-Assad era today, and Syria has helped Iran to become involved
in all Arab files and issues, infiltrating the region, and even recruiting
agents there.

Therefore, the collapse of the al-Assad regime means that Iran will have to
fall back at home and finally reap what it has sown, which is something that
Tehran’s mullahs, and Ahmadinejad, fear. This can be seen in the Iranian
president’s warning to the youth to be vigilant and that “today
Syria…tomorrow Iran”. This is indeed what is expected, therefore the
collapse of the al-Assad regime is something that will benefit everybody.