Why Iran Spends $35 Billion a Year to Prop Up Assad

Bashar al-Assad

ARUTZ SHEVA: Officials and experts reveal why Syria is so crucial that Iran spends mass fortunes despite sanctions and deploys thousands of troops.

Experts and Syrian officials revealed why exactly Iran, which is financially saddled by international sanctions, continues to spend fortunes and deploy thousands of troops to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, even as the fight turns against him.

A detailed report in Christian Science Monitor revealed that the UN's Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura disclosed to a private meeting in Washington DC recently that Iran funnels no less than $35 billion annually to its Syrian ally, according to a source who was present at the meeting.

Despite the massive aid, Assad this past month has suffered major losses, putting him on the brink of losing the bloody civil war that has stretched over four years and cost over 220,000 lives, and leading Syria's Defense Minister General Fahd al-Freij to head for a visit to Iran on Tuesday.

Explaining why Iran is willing to invest such massive resources even while staggering under sanctions, Hezbollah expert and director at the Washington-based Middle East Institute Randa Slim told the paper how Iran's larger regional aspirations fuel the move.

"Iran has always considered Syria its gateway to the Arab region. I don’t think that assessment has changed," said Slim. » | Ari Yashar | Tuesday, April 28, 2015