Arab League tells Iran not to fuel strife in post-Assad Syria

The Arab League bloc of nations has called on Iran to refrain from actions that could sow discord in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, a long-time ally of Tehran.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Arab League warned against igniting strife in Syria and denounced statements by Iranian officials that risk destabilizing the country. The statement did not name any specific officials.

“The Arab League rejects the recent Iranian statements aimed at inciting strife among the Syrian people,” the bloc’s secretariat said, adding that “it is following with concern the events taking place in several Syrian cities and areas with the aim of igniting the sparks of conflict."

Deadly clashes between Syria's new rulers and forces loyal to Assad in recent days have fueled fears of rekindling the civil war in the country.

Syria’s new authorities said Tuesday that pro-Assad forces ambushed interior ministry troops near Tartous, killing 14 and wounding 10 in a direct challenge to de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa. On Thursday, the new leaders launched an operation in the area, historically a stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite Muslim sect.

“The General Secretariat stressed the need for all parties to respect Syria's sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability, to restrict weapons to the hands of the state, dissolve all armed formations and reject all destabilizing foreign interventions," said the Arab League, which last year welcomed back Assad after a decade of isolation.

The bloc also expressed confidence in the ability of the Syrian people, with all their components and leaders, through wisdom, to preserve civil peace and national unity at this critical stage.

Earlier this week, Syria’s new foreign minister warned Iran not to destabilize the country's fragile calm after a call by Iran’s Supreme Leader for Syrian youth to rise up against the new Sunni Islamist rulers.

"Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and the sovereignty and safety of its country. We warn them against spreading chaos in Syria and hold them responsible for the consequences of their recent statements," Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani said on X.

In at least two public speeches this month, Ali Khamenei predicted "the emergence of a strong,” noting that the country's young men had nothing to lose.”

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Thursday that media reports about Iran interfering in Syria's internal affairs are baseless. “Tehran is committed to supporting the territorial integrity and national unity of Syria and the formation of an inclusive political system," he said in a statement.

Most recently, Mohsen Rezaei, former commander of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, wrote on X,"The resistant youth and nation of Syria will not remain silent against foreign occupation and aggression and the internal totalitarianism of one group. In less than a year, they will revive the resistance in Syria in another form."

In an interview with an Egyptian media outlet last week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran had advised Assad to engage in talks with Turkey and opposition forces before his fall, adding that Assad rejected the idea.

“Assad believed that he would not engage in talks with Turkey until their forces withdrew from Syrian territory, questioning how it would be possible to negotiate with a country that had occupied his land,” he said.