³§²â°ù¾±²¹â€™s future ties with Iran will "depend on the actions" of the new interim government in Damascus, a senior Iranian official said Wednesday, as relations between the two countries hit their lowest point in years following overthrow of the Assad regime by rebel groups.
Tehran will support the ³§²â°ù¾±²¹â€™s Sunni government if it defends its sovereignty, protects the rights of minorities and establishes democratic institutions, Ali Larijani, an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, said in a televised interview, according to °®Âþµº's Arabic language sister publication, Al-Araby al-Jadeed.
"If the behaviour of the ruling party in Syria is rational, we won’t have a problem," he said.
Larijani’s intervention follows similar comments by a number of Iranian officials since Assad’s ouster, who have called on ³§²â°ù¾±²¹â€™s new government to confront Israel and respect the rights of the country’s Shia population.
Decades of strong ties between the two countries were dramatically upended last month after Sunni rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept key Iranian ally Bashar al-Assad from power.
As the rebels advanced, Iran was forced to abandon its bases in the country and withdraw its military personnel in what amounted to a significant strategic setback for Tehran.
In the weeks since, Iran has warned Syria not to become hostile towards its ‘Axis of Resistance’ while HTS has accused Tehran of interfering in the country’s affairs.
Last week, ³§²â°ù¾±²¹â€™s new foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani warned Iran against "spreading chaos" in Syria and called on it to respect the country’s sovereignty.
Days later, Iran’s security chief threatened that a new group would emerge in Syria to confront Israel.
Calls for faster elections
Larijani expressed his hope that HTS would establish what he called a "democratic Islamic state" in Syria and said that delaying the electoral process could destabilise the country.
"The longer the elections in Syria last, the less stable the government will be," he said.
HTS head and de facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa last week ruled out holding near-term elections, saying that it could be four years before Syrians vote for their next president.