Syria
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh speaking during a panel discussion at the Erbil forum on February 26, 2025. Photo: Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the authorities in Damascus should respect their pledge of an inclusive government in action, adding that the rebel groups that rule new Syria include foreign fighters.
“Iran was the main force behind defeating ISIS [Islamic State] and Daesh in this region, so what Iran did was in favor of the nations of this region,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said during a panel discussion of the Erbil Forum 2025, referring to Tehran’s strong support for Syria’s former regime in countering ISIS.
Iran strongly supported Bashar al-Assad’s regime. During Syria’s civil war, ISIS emerged, seizing territory through brutal violence. Iran countered ISIS by backing Assad’s forces and mobilizing militias, including Hezbollah, citing regional stability and security concerns.
Iran also fought against rebel groups who are ruling Syria now.
“Some of these extremist Jihadist groups that were very much not nationalistic, they were not Syrian fighters, they were extra-national and extra-regional fighters, and still they are there,” Khatibzadeh said.
In December, Syria’s transitional government granted military ranks to several foreign nationals, including Uyghur, Jordanian, and Turkish individuals, in a decree signed by then-de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported at the time. The foreign fighters were members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the offensive that toppled the Assad regime and established a new government under Sharaa, now Syria’s interim president.
“Definitely the HTS right now is in power,” Khatibzadeh said, adding that “there is excitement in Ankara about that.”
“The tone that Turkey has taken in Syria is a bit strange to me because I doubt that any Arab country can be conquered by another country,” he said.
Turkey severed ties with Assad in 2011 after his crackdown on protesters, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling him a dictator. Ankara has backed Syrian rebels and launched military incursions, including against Kurds in Afrin in 2018, occupying parts of northern Syria. In January, Erdogan said Assad’s fall would be a victory for both Syria and Turkey. With strong influence over Damascus' new government, Ankara has offered military and logistical support.
“For Iran what is important is to make sure that what is coming out of these will not pose a threat to the whole region,” the senior diplomat said at the Erbil event.
HTS has Islamist jihadist roots, raising concerns about how its ideology will shape the new Syria, particularly regarding the country’s minority populations.
“We are standing behind any genuine attempt to form an inclusive government,” Khatibzadeh said, adding, “we are hearing very good words from Ahmad al-Sharaa, but what we expect to see is more action in accordance with what has been said.”
Sharaa has repeatedly pledged to protect the rights of all people in Syria.
“We do not have any wish except to have an inclusive, even a semi-inclusive, government in Syria that can guarantee the rights of minorities, the rights of people,” Khatibzadeh said.
“When Iran was invited to go and help the government, there was a government there,” he continued. “We are talking about a Syria that had a settled political structure, a government - an inclusive government, or whatever - a government recognized by the international community.”
Syrians rose against the Assad regime in 2011, leading to a full-scale civil war that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, left millions more in dire need of humanitarian assistance, and left much of the country’s infrastructure in ruins.
More than 13 million Syrians, half the country’s pre-war population, have been displaced since the start of the civil war, more than 6 million of whom are refugees who have fled the war-torn country, according to United Nations figures.
Regarding the Kurdish issue in Iran, Khatibzadeh claimed that Iran has no problem with Kurds, noting that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is Kurdish and has spoken in Kurdish in official settings.
“For Iran, the Kurdish issue is not an issue since it's integrated into society,” he said.
The Iranian government maintains that Kurds are fully integrated into the country’s social and political fabric. However, Kurdish activists and international rights groups have raised concerns about restrictions on political representation, cultural expression, and the treatment of minority groups.
“Iran was the main force behind defeating ISIS [Islamic State] and Daesh in this region, so what Iran did was in favor of the nations of this region,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said during a panel discussion of the Erbil Forum 2025, referring to Tehran’s strong support for Syria’s former regime in countering ISIS.
Iran strongly supported Bashar al-Assad’s regime. During Syria’s civil war, ISIS emerged, seizing territory through brutal violence. Iran countered ISIS by backing Assad’s forces and mobilizing militias, including Hezbollah, citing regional stability and security concerns.
Iran also fought against rebel groups who are ruling Syria now.
“Some of these extremist Jihadist groups that were very much not nationalistic, they were not Syrian fighters, they were extra-national and extra-regional fighters, and still they are there,” Khatibzadeh said.
In December, Syria’s transitional government granted military ranks to several foreign nationals, including Uyghur, Jordanian, and Turkish individuals, in a decree signed by then-de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported at the time. The foreign fighters were members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the offensive that toppled the Assad regime and established a new government under Sharaa, now Syria’s interim president.
“Definitely the HTS right now is in power,” Khatibzadeh said, adding that “there is excitement in Ankara about that.”
“The tone that Turkey has taken in Syria is a bit strange to me because I doubt that any Arab country can be conquered by another country,” he said.
Turkey severed ties with Assad in 2011 after his crackdown on protesters, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling him a dictator. Ankara has backed Syrian rebels and launched military incursions, including against Kurds in Afrin in 2018, occupying parts of northern Syria. In January, Erdogan said Assad’s fall would be a victory for both Syria and Turkey. With strong influence over Damascus' new government, Ankara has offered military and logistical support.
“For Iran what is important is to make sure that what is coming out of these will not pose a threat to the whole region,” the senior diplomat said at the Erbil event.
HTS has Islamist jihadist roots, raising concerns about how its ideology will shape the new Syria, particularly regarding the country’s minority populations.
“We are standing behind any genuine attempt to form an inclusive government,” Khatibzadeh said, adding, “we are hearing very good words from Ahmad al-Sharaa, but what we expect to see is more action in accordance with what has been said.”
Sharaa has repeatedly pledged to protect the rights of all people in Syria.
“We do not have any wish except to have an inclusive, even a semi-inclusive, government in Syria that can guarantee the rights of minorities, the rights of people,” Khatibzadeh said.
“When Iran was invited to go and help the government, there was a government there,” he continued. “We are talking about a Syria that had a settled political structure, a government - an inclusive government, or whatever - a government recognized by the international community.”
Syrians rose against the Assad regime in 2011, leading to a full-scale civil war that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, left millions more in dire need of humanitarian assistance, and left much of the country’s infrastructure in ruins.
More than 13 million Syrians, half the country’s pre-war population, have been displaced since the start of the civil war, more than 6 million of whom are refugees who have fled the war-torn country, according to United Nations figures.
Regarding the Kurdish issue in Iran, Khatibzadeh claimed that Iran has no problem with Kurds, noting that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is Kurdish and has spoken in Kurdish in official settings.
“For Iran, the Kurdish issue is not an issue since it's integrated into society,” he said.
The Iranian government maintains that Kurds are fully integrated into the country’s social and political fabric. However, Kurdish activists and international rights groups have raised concerns about restrictions on political representation, cultural expression, and the treatment of minority groups.
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