Reuters: What Assad Told Iranian Officials About Turkey Before His Ouster

Two Iranian officials told Reuters that ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad complained to Iran’s Foreign Minister in the days leading up to his removal about Turkey’s strong support for opposition forces aiming to overthrow him.

Five decades of Assad family rule ended on Sunday when the president fled to Moscow, where the government granted him asylum.

Iran had supported Assad throughout Syria’s protracted war, and his removal was widely seen as a significant blow to the “Axis of Resistance” led by Iran—a political and military alliance opposing Israeli and U.S. influence in the Middle East.

As opposition forces gained control of major cities and advanced toward the capital, Assad met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Damascus on December 2.

According to a senior Iranian official, Assad expressed anger during the meeting over what he described as intense Turkish efforts to oust him.

The official noted that Araghchi reassured Assad of Iran’s continued support and promised to raise the issue with Ankara.

The next day, Araghchi met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to voice Tehran’s deep concerns over Ankara’s backing of the opposition’s advance.

“The meeting was tense,” said a second Iranian official. “Iran expressed its dissatisfaction with Turkey’s alignment with American and Israeli agendas and conveyed Assad’s concerns.” This reference highlighted Turkey’s support for Syrian opposition forces and cooperation with Western and Israeli interests targeting Iran’s allies in the region.

The official added that Fidan placed blame for the crisis on Assad, stating that the root causes of the conflict lay in his failure to engage in meaningful peace talks and his years of oppressive rule.

A source at Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs familiar with the talks clarified that Fidan’s remarks were not accurately represented, adding that Araghchi did not carry or convey any messages from Assad to Ankara. However, the source declined to provide further details.

Speaking to reporters in Doha on Sunday, Fidan remarked that Assad’s regime had “ample time” to address Syria’s longstanding problems but chose not to, instead allowing “the slow disintegration and collapse of the system.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei commented on Wednesday, stating that Assad’s removal was part of a plan orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

He added that one of Syria’s neighboring countries also played a role in the plot. While Khamenei did not name the country, his remarks appeared to point to Turkey.