When Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of what used to be the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, on July 28 announced the rebranding of his group, there were few reactions in Tehran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi made a brief statement describing the rebranding as a game “aimed at delisting the group as a terrorist organization,” adding that “the ugly image of extremism and terrorism cannot be purified though such moves.” Qassemi added that the move indicates the “political bankruptcy of the extremists' regional sponsors, led by Saudi Arabia as the founder and principal supporter of al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Daesh [Islamic State], Jabhat al-Nusra and many other terrorist groups in the region, and particularly in Syria.” Moreover, Qassemi called on the international community to pay serious attention to the root causes of terrorism and its repercussions, and to pressure the founders and supporters of terrorist groups to end extremism.
Even among Iran’s allies, there was no direct reaction to the rebranding of Jabhat al-Nusra — which was the talk of the region for days — reflecting the view of the “Resistance Axis,” which brings together Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement. This was strange given the fact that the Iranian-led coalition is the main — if not only — ground force in direct war with Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, and that implications related to the group’s rebranding could affect the course of the war, which has been stuck between two edges of an abyss.
