Expert on Syria: "Talking About the End of Iran's Role in Syria is Naive"

Speaking to local Iranian media in an interview on Monday about the recent fall of the Assad government and Iran's role in Syria the Tehran-based political analyst  Sabah Zanganeh said that "A portion of the power in Syria is under the control of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization, which consists of 30 different groups. Those groups are not fully on the same page and each follows its own agenda."

"Given the diversity in armed groups in control in Syria, the United States will face numerous difficulties in shaping the country's governing political structure," he said.

Elsewhere in the interview, the Iranian analyst said that "Access to the Mediterranean is one of Iran's long-term goals," noting that "Iran has had a presence on the Mediterranean coast since far past."

He pointed out that Iran went to Syria "to prevent the collapse of governments in the region."

He further said that the Israeli regime seized the opportunity provided by the takeover of government by radical religious groups and the subsequent chaos in the country to occupy more lands in Syria.

Zanganeh continued to criticize Iran's insufficient attention to the soft power in Syria, saying that,  "Iran's focus in Syria has been mainly on hardware support, while not enough attention has been paid to the soft power in the country."