Karen Faulkner,
Syria’s dictator Bashar Assad has signed a military cooperation agreement with Iran’s Islamic extremist regime, Algemeiner reports. The deal was concluded Wednesday, reportedly as part of an effort to increase Syria’s air defenses against “pressures by America.”
Together with Russia, Iran has been one of Assad’s main allies in Syria’s ongoing civil war. Assad and the Iranian regime are allies in fighting ISIS on the one hand and in fighting Israel and the United States on the other.
Although Assad has taken back control of most of Syria, Islamic militants and opposition groups still control Idlib and sections of the border with Turkey: Islamist militants and other opposition entities have retained control in these areas. Northern and eastern parts of the country are controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group made up mainly of Kurds and backed by the US in its fight against ISIS. The SDF is opposed by Turkey, however.
Israel has conducted numerous air strikes on Syria to prevent Iranian entrenchment in the country and to prevent Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, from receiving weapons. For its part, the US has launched missiles at a Syrian air force base in retaliation for Assad’s use of chemical weapons against civilians, Algemeiner reports.
After signing the agreement with Syrian Defense Minister Ali Ayoub, Iranian Major General Mohammad Bagheri told Lebanese and Syrian reporters: "The signed agreement strengthens our will and our determination to cooperate in the face of American pressure. Iran will strengthen the Syrian air defense systems in the framework of strengthening military relations between the two countries."
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