Le Figaro: Iran distances itself from its Syrian ally

A very, very rough translation:

Emissaries from Tehran have held talks in Europe with the opponents of Bashar al-Assad.

It is bad news for the Syrian regime: Iran, its principle ally in the Middle East, is putting distance between itself and Damascus. Even if, Monday, the Iranian minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Akbar Salehi, rejected any change of regime in Damascus,  many high officials in Iran in the past few days have criticized, in a thinly-veiled way, the policy of "total repression" chosen by President Bashar al-Assad against the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who demand his resignation.  "When there is a problem between the people and their leaders, far from violence, there is an obligation to sit down together as a group to reach a solution," declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, last Wednesday.

Damascus is accused by the international community of abuses of force, in the hope of quelling the revolt, which have caused more than 2,200 deaths in the last six months.  "One side should not kill the other," added  the Iranian chief of state, who appealed to "the people and the Syrian government" to  "meet together to reach an agreement." Saturday, Ali Akbar Salehi added that Damascus should respond "rapidly" to the "legitimate demands of the people."

Hezbollah appeals for calm

The principle ally of Iran in the Arab world, Syria is its "window" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, via Hezbollah of Lebanon. But the Iranian regime is pragmatic. After having logistically aided the Syrian security forces in their repression of the "revolutionaries", Tehran has concluded that, by refusing reforms, Assad has scuttled himself.  According to our information, Iranian officials have met with representatives of the Syrian opposition in a European capital. These emissaries want to know more about  the leaders of this opposition, driven underground the last forty years by the Baath, the ruling party of Syria. They seek to determine as well the strength of Islamists at the oppositions core, the relationships that a new Syrian leadership will form with their ally Hezbollah, and if a compromise with the regime is still possible.

In Beirut, the Shi'ite party has also sought to enter into contact with the Syrian opposition. Friday, their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, appeared distinctly less enthusiastic in the support hitherto given Assad- support which has brought about about an erosion of favor in Arab opinion towards the Shi'ite militia. These approaches made to the opposition constitute a clear message to the Syrian elite. On several occasions, Iran has encouraged them to institute the reforms that would allow them to stay in power. But the Syrian leadership has remained deaf to these appeals. Now time is running out: the Syrian demonstrators and the leaders of the opposition inside the country refuse at this point to accept any compromises. Realistically, these same opponents are not ready, at this juncture, to turn their backs on Iran. "We are rebalancing our relationship with Iran, but we will not adopt an anti-Iranian policy," we were told recently by one of the key figures of the opposition.

"Syria is an important link in the resistance (against Israel, ed.) in the Middle East, and certain parties want to eliminate this link," asserts the Iranian Foreign Minister, in an allusion to the United States and France, who have called for the departure of Assad. It is through Syrian territory that the majority of Iranian arms destined for Hezbollah are conveyed. But today, the Shi'ite militia dreads that a new regime in Damascus will sever this umbilical cord. The impromptu visit on Thursday to Tehran by the Emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad al-Thani, was intended to encourage the Iranians to distance themselves from Damascus, and to reassure Hezbollah in particular on the outlines of a future Syrian leadership.  Doha enjoys cordial relations with Iran and Hezbollah. Disappointed by its longstanding ally Syria, Qatar now leads the Arab revolt against Damascus, which has just ignored a diplomatic entreaty from the Arab League to Syria.

Read the article in the original French here.

Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad sees his support crumbling.