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Two-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The joyous scenes of Syrians celebrating newfound freedom after half a century of tyranny are a heartwarming contrast to the gruesome images emerging from Assad\u2019s prisons<\/a>. These horrors remind us of the depths to which one man\u2019s ruthlessness can plunge a nation. While Bashar al-Assad\u2019s fall reverberated globally, its shockwaves hit hardest not in Damascus but in Tehran<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From the outset of Syria\u2019s peaceful protests, Ali Khamenei, Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, made a fateful choice: to stand by Assad at any cost. Even as Iran grappled with its own economic crises, it poured tens of billions of dollars into propping up the Syrian regime. Thousands of fighters from IRGC-backed militias like the Fatemiyoun, Zainabiyoun, and Iraq\u2019s Popular Mobilization Forces, alongside Qassem Soleimani<\/a>\u2019s Quds Force, were deployed to fuel Assad\u2019s campaign of mass murder and destruction.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Soleimani\u2019s strategy of scorched-earth warfare devastated Syrian cities, turning them into graveyards of rubble. Roofs once meant to shelter families became instruments of their death. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s regime prioritized Assad\u2019s survival over its own pressing needs. In 2013, Mehdi Taeb, commander of the Ammar HQ, infamously declared<\/a>, “If forced to choose between Syria and Khuzestan, we\u2019ll choose Syria,’ referencing Iran’s oil-rich southern province.”<\/span><\/p>\n Taeb\u2019s boast of a 60,000-strong militia in Syria exemplified the regime\u2019s miscalculated arrogance. Yet, after 13 years, a rebel force of 10,000 defeated Assad\u2019s 170,000-strong army\u2014a devastating blow to the regime\u2019s regional ambitions, made possible by the collapse of the proxy forces that once safeguarded Assad\u2019s rule.<\/span><\/p>\n Leaked document exposes #Iranian<\/a> regime's financial support for #Syria<\/a>. What are the implications of Billions of dollars squandered to prop up #Assad<\/a>'s regime?https:\/\/t.co\/z4Ol9DSoHd<\/a><\/p>\n — NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n