Fall of Assad’s Ba’ath party is a blow to Iran, Russia, as Syrian rebels try to project normalcy amid uncertain future

Rebels who have seized power in Syria are going out of their way to project “normalcy” as they seek to consolidate their gains, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The fall of the socialist dictatorship, however, already signals trouble in the coalition created by Russia and Iran to oppose America in the region.

Rebel fighters who are stationed around the Syrian capital of Damascus have tried to reassure citizens they have nothing to fear from the Islamic coalition that stormed across Syria and took power over the last 10 days.

“We have nothing against you, neither Alawite, nor Christian, nor Shiite, nor Druze, but everyone must behave well, and no one should try to attack us,” one fighter told residents of a Damascus neighborhood, reported the AP.

The rebels seem to be trying to paint a picture of a kinder, gentler, unfamiliar Islamic regime that will respect individual rights. 

“It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women’s dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty,” reads a social media post from rebel general command, according to the AP. The Lion was unable to verify the authenticity of the post. 

As the Economist’s Shashank Joshi noted, similar promises were made by the Taliban in Afghanistan when they consolidated power after President Joe Biden’s hasty evacuation of U.S. troops from the country. The situation in Afghanistan quickly deteriorated for women and girls under Islamists.  

“Doesn’t mean same is inevitable in Syria. But worth scrutinizing,” added Joshi.  

Whatever happens in Syria, experts agree that the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad’s Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party is a serious blow to both Iran and Russia. 

Assad fled to Moscow prior to the rebel occupation of the capital city. 

Dubbed the “axis of resistance,” the Iranian-Russian coalition of Arab states and terror groups could face dissolution sooner rather than later. 

“Without Syria, we could see the entire axis of resistance just unravel,” a Western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Washington Post.  

Even Iran agreed that conditions have been tough for the last year for axis powers, after Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli citizens on Oct. 7, 2023. 

“The resistance front has had a really hard year,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged Sunday in an interview on Iranian state television, reported the Post.  

For Russia, the fall of the leftist Arab socialist coalition known as the National Progressive Front that supported Hamas and other terror groups could mean that President Vladimir Putin has fewer proxies to attack America. 

“Syria has been a key theater in the broader proxy conflict between Russia and the U.S. losing Assad represents a strategic defeat for Russia, costing them critical bases in the Middle East and further stretching their military resources as they continue fighting in Ukraine,” Rebekah Koffler, strategic military intelligence analyst and author of Putin’s Playbook, told Fox News.  

Ksenia Svetlova, an Israeli politician, told Fox News that Russia has been exposed for overpromising and under-delivering in the Middle East region, in part, because Putin’s disastrous war in Ukraine has been a distraction. 

“In the Middle East, Russia now looks weak compared to the United States,” she said. “Syrians are stunned that Moscow left ‘Baby Assad,’ as the regime opponents call him, to collapse, while the U.S. has demonstrated strength by standing firmly with Israel in its time of need.”