Iran toys with fostering an armed insurgency in Syria

Credit: Enab Baladi

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Indications that Iran may not accept Bashar al-Assad’s downfall lying down raise the spectre of renewed sectarian strife that could not only destabilise Syria but also disrupt Middle Eastern efforts to bridge the region’s multiple fault lines.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) statements, violent incidents involving remnants of the ancien regime, and the emergence of a mysterious armed group opposed to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto new ruler, fueled concern that Iran may seek to derail the transition to a post-Al-Assad Syria.