Skip to main content

Ayatollah Khamenei, Assad spoke of reforms

Iran's former ambassador to Syria conceded in an interview that the Syrian government made mistakes in the first stages of the Syrian protests and revealed that Iran's supreme leader wrote a letter to Syria's president urging reforms.
TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 04:  An Iranian police helicopter passes above portraits of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) and the former Ayatollah Khomeini outside Khomeini's shrine on the 25th anniversary of his death on June 4, 2014 on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran. Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, is still revered by many Iranians, and his portrait hangs throughout the country.  (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Read in 

Hossein Sheikholeslam, Iran's former ambassador to Syria and the current foreign policy adviser to the speaker of parliament, spoke to Ramze Obour magazine about Iran’s relationship with Syria and the mistakes of the Syrian government, revealing some previously unknown information.

Though Sheikholeslam’s comments were recently picked up by Shargh Newspaper, the original interview took place in April before the Syrian elections. Some of his points in the interview are noteworthy in that they concede mistakes by the Syrian government. The interviewer was unafraid to challenge the official on a topic rarely covered from a nuanced angle in Iran, and the discussion also addressed a letter from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to President Bashar al-Assad.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.