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Russia, Iran interest conflict in Syria

December 27, 2016 at 12:18 pm

Chair of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko (L) and Speaker of the Parliament of Iran, Ali Larijani (R) at the Parliament building in Tehran, Iran on November 13, 2016.

Russia and Iran have been closely coordinating their support for the Syrian regime President, Bashar Al-Assad in order to achieve their interests in the war-torn country. However, rivalry between the two countries appears to surface every now and then, leaving Assad as the biggest loser after gradually depriving him of his influence.

This rivalry is clearly reflected in the strategic province of Homs where both sides try to impose their authority, especially in the country’s notorious security branches.

Suriya Net reported that recently senior officers and the head of the security branch in Homs have all been removed from their positions by Moscow. The reshuffle was carried out in order to sever the branch’s ties with the Iranian-backed national defence apparatus and reduce Tehran’s attempts to block Russian reconciliation efforts in the area.

Media sources loyal to the Syrian regime reported earlier this month that Brigadier Iqab Abbas has been isolated from his position as head of the State Security and replaced by Brigadier General Ibrahim Darwish, who was chairman of the State Security branch in Hama province.