AL-HAYAT INTERVIEW WITH SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD ON IRAN'S REGIONAL ROLE
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC NEWS AGENCY (IRNA)
June 26, 2006
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that the concern of some Arab countries over Iran's growing role in the region is irrational.
In an exclusive interview with the daily Al-Hayat, published on Monday, he said so far as Arabs themselves do not have a role in the region, they have no right to negate or substantiate the role of others.
A famous editor of the daily, Ghassan Charbel, who interviewed Assad, referred to the president's recent visit to Jordan and said, "I feel that Jordan's King Abdullah II is deeply worried that Iran's role in the region may undermine the role of Arab states," to which Assad replied, "It should first be clarified whether at present the Arabs have a role in the region."
"The Arabs' role in the Middle East is rather based on propaganda. It is not genuine," he added.
About Iran's nuclear program for peaceful purposes and the anxiety over the US attack on Iran, he said that such an attack is unlikely and against reason, given that its fate is uncertain and it is not clear how far it will expand geographically.
He referred to the US revised approach and its readiness for holding talks with Iran and hoped that things will proceed along the right path.
In reply to a question that a possible agreement between Iran and US can strengthen Iran's role in the region and marginalize that of Syria and other regional states, he said, "There is no doubt that any accord between them will be in the interest of the regional stability and Syria." In response to a question about Syria's reaction to the possible attack on Iran by the US, he said that such a chaos will undoubtedly affect the stability of the regional states, which will inevitably find themselves involved in it.
Assad warned that the question is not only a military attack and the reaction to it. The important issue is the disorder that will follow the attack in a country possessing nuclear technology.
Concerning regional division of influence on the Arab world among Iran, Turkey and Israel, he said that the three countries should not be treated in a similar way.
"If we (Arabs) consider ourselves to be strong, the role of others should not panic us. Therefore, we should strengthen our role in the region. It is irrational to expect other countries to reduce their role on account of our own weakness.
"I do not wish to speak about the Zionist regime, given that it is an occupier. But Iran and Turkey seem to be interested in playing a role in the region, which is their legitimate right. In fact, every country has such a right," added the president.
Assad said that after his visit to Iran last year he was strongly criticized by some Arab officials, adding that now they themselves attempt to approach Iran.
"Just as it is impossible to make any country accept the influence of another country, if Syria is to have a role in the region it will be facilitated through cooperation with Iran," he added.
The Syrian president pointed to the role of his country in improving Iran's
relations with some Arab states, in particular those bordering the Persian
Gulf, he said, "We play such a role and believe that at present, the
Arabs have reached the conclusion that confronting Iran is against their
interests."