An Iranian general declared that Syria "is the red line of the resistance movement against the Zionist regime," according to Iranian reports.
Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri, of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, linked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown on opposition forces to what he said is a larger war against Western forces, including Israel, the Mehr News Agency reported.
Syria should be "regarded as the red line of the resistance," Jazayeri told Mehr in an interview in which he claimed that "Western" forces were behind the "terrorist" attacks against Assad’s government.
"The hegemonistic [sic] bloc is openly and impudently taking subversive and terrorist actions against the Syrian nation and government," Jazayeri stated. "This great lie should be exposed so that the world will know about the defeat of the United States and global Zionism and reactionaryism [sic] in the region at the hands of Syria’s resistance."
Iranian officials have supported Assad’s regime as it violently cracks down on rebel forces, even as other Arab governments back away from Assad.
Iran recently protested Syria’s suspension from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a body of Arab nations, dubbing it "unjust," Mehr reported. The United States has also accused Iran of covertly training Syrian militia fighters to help prop up the embattled Syrian government.
Iranian General Jazayeri claimed the Syrian opposition is mainly comprised of and bolstered by Western agitators.
"Given this, freedom-seeking countries should seriously support Syria against its enemies," he said.
Only Iranian media reports about Syria are to be trusted, Jazayeri added.
"Media outlets in the Islamic Republic of Iran should pay special attention to this important issue and prevent other countries from being influenced by the suggestions and the media psychological operations of the enemy," he said.