Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on Syrians to stand against the rebels who overthrew Bashar Assad, a leader backed by Tehran. He accused the United States and Israel of orchestrating the insurgency that brought an end to the Assad family’s rule, which had lasted for five decades.

During a gathering with religious figures in Tehran, Khamenei asserted that young Syrians would soon rise up to overthrow the current government, led by the al-Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). He claimed that the instability created by the insurgents would lead Syrian youth to organize against this new regime.

“The young Syrian has nothing to lose. His university is unsafe, his school is unsafe, his home is unsafe, his street is unsafe, his life is unsafe. What should he do? He must stand strong and determined against those who designed this insecurity and those who implemented it, and God willing, he will triumph over them,” Khamenei stated.

However, Iran International, a dissenting news source, remarked on Sunday that there is no indication that Syrians are following Khamenei’s call to action.

“Despite the dire picture painted by Khamenei, there have been no reports of major incidents in Syria since the current leadership took control in Damascus, except tensions between Turkish-backed forces and Kurds in the north,” Iran International reported.

The news outlet Firstpost similarly observed that large crowds of Syrians celebrated the ousting of Assad’s regime in Damascus on December 8.

“According to UNICEF, young people constitute approximately one-third of Syria’s population. Given that, it’s reasonable to infer that they played a substantial role in these demonstrations. Their active participation in the celebrations would hint to a collective sentiment of relief and optimism for the future,” Firstpost highlighted.

Khamenei fiercely rejected the idea that Assad was a puppet of Iran, insisting that Tehran had no “proxy” forces in the Middle East. He responded angrily to accusations of Iran’s influence over militant groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, claiming these groups were driven by their own beliefs, not by Iranian directives.

“They constantly say that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region! This is another mistake!” Khamenei exclaimed, referring to Israel’s attacks on Iranian-backed groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

“The Islamic Republic does not have proxy forces. Yemen fights because of its faith; Hezbollah fights because its faith gives it strength to fight; Hamas and Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so,” he argued.

“They do not act as our proxies. If one day we want to take action, we will not need any proxy forces,” he asserted.

These remarks seemed to many observers as an attempt by Khamenei to distance Iran from groups it has historically supported, which have recently suffered heavy losses.

Iran International pointed out that only a few months earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had proudly boasted of Tehran’s “unlimited support” for the Middle East’s “resistance front,” mocking Israel’s failure to destroy Hamas.

While Hamas is increasingly weakened, Hezbollah has been largely decimated in Lebanon, and Iran’s significant investments in Assad’s regime have largely been lost. This loss is attributed to the Syrian rebels sensing that Iran could no longer protect Damascus after its proxies in Lebanon and Gaza were devastated.

The Houthis in Yemen, another Iranian-backed group, have largely avoided severe setbacks since Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7. Following a missile attack by the Houthis on a playground in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to treat them in the same manner as Iran’s other terrorist groups.

“The U.S. and also other countries, like us, see the Houthis as a threat, not only to world shipping, but also to world order,” Netanyahu said.

“Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s evil axis, so we will act against the Houthis…with force, determination and sophistication,” he added.

Khamenei, in his speech, claimed that despite the heavy losses suffered by its proxy forces, Iran’s resilience remained intact. He vowed to continue resisting the United States and Israel and issued a warning to any Iranians considering rising against their government.

“The fools smell the scent of kebab,” he raged. “Anyone inside the country who chooses to serve the Americans, the Iranian people will trample them underfoot.”

{Matzav.com}