Iran-Syria relations conditional on fair elections: Academic
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran will establish diplomatic relations with the new Syrian government if it holds fair elections and its authorities 'change their nature,' a Tehran University professor said.
'For sure, if an election is held for a government that has gained power through armed force and Turkey's support, and it secures the people's votes in accordance with international standards, then why would we not establish ties with them?' Javad Rekabi Sherbaf, assistant professor at Tehran University, told Rudaw's Fuad Rahim last week.
Iran was a staunch supporter of Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime, which was toppled by a coalition of rebel groups spearheaded by the Islamist Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on December 8.
Sherbaf elaborated that Iran was not 'directly supporting Assad himself' but 'supporting both Assad and the Syrian nation.'
'I think the Islamic Republic of Iran, in this regard, has no issues making contact with the new regime of the Syrian government, but we have to see how the stability situation in Syria evolves. We also need to determine whether the armed forces that, until six months ago, were recognized as terrorists by several countries and had bounties placed on their heads have changed their nature or not,' he stressed.
In late February, Iran's deputy foreign minister called on Damascus authorities to respect their pledge for an inclusive government in action.
In December, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani called on Tehran to respect the will of the Syrian people and warned them against 'spreading chaos.'
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