In an interview with Al-Arabiya, former Syrian prime minister Riad Hijab, who defected six months ago, said that “Syria is occupied by the Iranian regime. Who runs the country isn’t Bashar Assad but Kassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s al-Quds Brigades [within the Revolutionary Guards].”
This reinforces the reports that Iran is preparing a proxy regime for Syria in the event of Bashar Assad’s fall. According to a senior official in the Obama administration, Iran is backing 50,000 militiamen in Syria: “It’s a big operation. The immediate intention seems to be to support the Syrian regime. But it’s important for Iran to have a force in Syria that is reliable and can be counted on.”