Khamenei: Assad's fall was a US-Israel plot

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran had evidence that the toppling of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was a result of a plan by the US, Israel and one of Syria's neighbours that he did not name.

Following Assad's fall from power, Iran's foreign ministry called for a national dialog to form an inclusive government representing all segments of Syrian society.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says what happened in Syria was a “joint American and Zionist plot”, even though a neighboring country also played a role.

“There should be no doubt that what happened in Syria was plotted in the command rooms of the United States and Israel. We have evidence for this,” Ayatollah Khamenei told a group of people in Tehran. 

“One of the neighboring countries of Syria also played a role, but the primary planners are the US and the Zionist regime,” the Leader added, apparently referring to Turkey.

Ayatollah Khamenei quashed speculations about the weakening of the resistance front after militants and Takfiri terrorists overran the Syrian capital, assuring that the resistance axis will become stronger.   

“This is what the resistance is; this is what the resistance front is. The more you push, the stronger it becomes; the more you commit crimes, the more motivated it becomes,” he said.

The Leader also dismissed some analysis that the alleged weakening of the resistance front would undermine Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei also said Iran had made all preparations to assist Syria, but the US and the Israeli regime closed all air and land routes to the Arab country.

Ayatollah Khamenei cited Hezbollah and “the calamity” that befell on the Lebanese resistance with Israel’s assassination of the group’s secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Iran and Russia had propped up Assad's rule since Syria's civil war erupted in 2011 with military support, men and airpower. Tehran deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria to keep its ally in power to maintain Tehran's "Axis of Resistance" to Israel and US influence in the Middle East.