ALEPPO, Syria
Opposition figures in Syria’s Aleppo province voiced concern that last week’s landmark agreement between the P5+1 group of nations and Iran over the latter’s nuclear energy program will serve to bolster Iranian support for the Damascus regime.
The agreement, signed last week in Vienna following months of talks, will remove longstanding economic sanctions on Iran in return for unprecedented curbs on – and regular inspections of – Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
Aleppo-based opposition figures, however, fear the deal will serve to strengthen what they describe as the “negative role” being played by Iran in Syria and encourage Tehran to step up support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“The nuclear deal will give a green light to Iran to continue killing Syrians,” Ahmed Abu Saleh, president of the Aleppo Revolutionaries’ Union, told Anadolu Agency on Monday.
“And the removal of economic sanctions on Iran will allow it to continue supporting the Assad regime,” he said. “Ultimately, this deal with threaten the security of the entire Middle East and the Arabian Gulf.”
The Aleppo Revolutionaries’ Union is a civil body based in Aleppo that supports the country’s opposition forces against the Assad regime.
Local residents in Aleppo likewise voiced anxiety regarding last week’s deal in Vienna.
“The agreement may open the door to bargaining over Syria and ultimately deliver the country back to the regime,” Aleppo resident Mahmoud Sharifi told Anadolu Agency.
The removal of economic sanctions on Iran, he added, “could allow some of Iran’s unfrozen assets to be transferred to the regime’s banks.”
Aleppo-based activist Alaa Walid, for his part, said last week’s deal reflected “the common interests between the U.S., Israel, the EU and Iran” and was a “reward for Iran for its role in the region.”
Syria has been wracked by civil war since 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down violently on anti-government demonstrators.
