Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has urged Syrian President
Bashar Assad to stop suppressing protesters, RIA Novosti reports.
The USA and a set of other Western states accuse Iran of involvement
in suppressing Syrian protests.
Tierri de Montbrial from the Institut Français de Recherche en Iran
(IFRI) said on Tuesday that the fall of Assad’s regime in Syria may
weaken Iran’s influence in the Middle East. 12% of Iran’s population
are Alawis, followers of an Islamic teaching that resembles a mixture
of Islam, Christianity and pre-Islamic religions. President Hafez
Assad came to force in 1971. The Alawis started dominating in state,
military and economic spheres of power.
Syrian anti-government protests started in Deraa in mid-March. Syrian
human rights activists say that the government has killed over 2,000
people. Syrian authorities say that the disorders were organized by
terrorists and resulted in about 500 deaths of servicemen and
law-enforcers.
