As the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions against Iran, Syria, Tehran's sole Arab partner, stayed silent, reports Bassel Oudat in Damascus Although more than a week has passed since the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions against Iran in response to fears that it may be using its nuclear energy programme as a cover for a project to develop nuclear weapons, Syria, Iran's sole Arab ally, has not reacted either officially or unofficially. No Syrian official has commented on the sanctions, and the country's official and semi-official media outlets have ignored them, without a single commentary, editorial or political analysis having appeared to explain Syria's position. However, a day before the sanctions decision, the government- owned Al-Thawra newspaper stated in an editorial that chastising Iran "has become a goal in itself for the Security Council, irrespective of the nuclear issue". Iran has "a long way to go" before it can develop nuclear weapons, the newspaper said, adding that Tehran knew how to pursue its goals whatever obstacles might be placed in its path. "Sanctions will not weaken Iran," the newspaper said. Yet, once the Security Council had passed the sanctions Resolution, the Syrian media fell silent on the issue, and there has been no comment on them or criticism of either the US, which sponsored the Resolution, or Lebanon, which abstained in the Security Council vote on the sanctions. There have only been a few references in the privately-owned Syrian media, stating that the sanctions "ignore Tehran's three- way agreement" on nuclear fuel that was sponsored by Turkey and Brazil on 18 May. The sanctions, the private-sector media stated, "will complicate the crisis between Iran and the West". Syria's apparent detachment on the issue has surprised many analysts and some Western diplomats, who believe that it could signal a disagreement between Damascus and Tehran that the two sides have hitherto been careful to conceal. Perhaps Syria is beginning to distance itself from Iran. Or perhaps Syria has succumbed to US, European and Arab pressures to distance itself from Iran's nuclear programme. According to Marwan Habash, a former Syrian minister, the strategic alliance between Tehran and Damascus "was born because of the receding role of the Arab League and created by the common interests of the two countries despite their opposing ideologies, the Syrian regime being secular and the Iranian one based on orthodox religion." In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Habash said that "Iran's hardline statements and actions towards Israel and the US do not correspond to Syria's moderate actions and policies regarding its relationship with the US and negotiations with Israel." He added that, "in an atmosphere where negative Arab influences do not exist, and in the light of the divergence of goals between Syria's secularism and Arab character and Iran's orthodox policies and long-term ambitions in the region, it could be said that Syrian-Iranian ties will be downgraded to simply normal relations between two regional countries and based on common economic interests and sometimes shared political outlooks," while losing their special character. Yet, Sayed Ahmed Moussawi, an adviser to Iran's president and Iranian ambassador to Damascus, said that there was no disagreement between Syria and Iran, either on ending the blockade on Gaza or on the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is investigating Iran's nuclear programme. In an interview, Moussawi told the Weekly that Iran "hopes the major powers will stop manipulating the IAEA by pressing for the politicisation of Iran's peaceful nuclear programme." The ambassador said that the new UN sanctions "will bring about the opposite result" to the one intended and "will strengthen Iran's insistence on fighting for its rights". Moussawi described the sanctions as "unreasonable in the light of the three-way agreement between Iran, Turkey and Brazil," which Syria supported. "The people of Iran will not be subjected to blackmail, pressure or threats," Moussawi said. "Iran's response is clear to those who aim to achieve their goals through bigotry and bullying." Such opinions have brought Damascus and Tehran together over the past three decades, and both states were hostile and fearful of the former Saddam regime in Iraq. More recently, Syria and Iran have drawn closer together in response to European and US pressures. However, sizeable political differences on regional issues remain, with the two countries diverging on their relationships with Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Turkey, Israel, Europe and the US. Syria's decision two years ago to enter into indirect peace talks with Israel, sponsored by Turkey, at a time when Iran was threatening Israel was probably the beginning of deteriorating bilateral ties. It was followed by Syria's decision to warm to Turkey through political, economic and social ties, even bestowing on Ankara the status of strategic partner. This was disturbing news for Tehran, which views Ankara as a competitor in its relationship with Damascus and in terms of its role in the region, especially since Turkey is a partner of both Europe and the US. These measures were followed by improved ties between Syria and Saudi Arabia, which are another source of concern for the regime in Iran, especially since Riyad has facilitated Lebanese reconciliation, presidential elections, and the formation of a new government. At the same time, the relationship between Syria and Hizbullah, seen as Iran's client in Lebanon, is no longer as close as it once was. Differences between Damascus and Tehran over Iraq have also spilled into the public domain, with each country supporting opposing groups inside Iraq and embracing divergent goals. In Iraq's recent parliamentary elections, Syria indirectly backed Iraqi political forces opposed to Iran, and the Syrian president met with one of the forces' leading figures. Yet probably the most pronounced of the differences between Tehran and Damascus concerns the two countries' relationships with Washington. While Iran has challenged US hegemony in the region, Syria has been exerting all its efforts and using its European connections to improve its relations with Washington. Damascus has also ruled out any other country besides the US playing a mediating role in any future peace talks with Israel. Syria's leaders hope to convince the Obama administration to change US policies in the region as a first step towards ending US sanctions against Syria and appointing a new US ambassador to Damascus, a post that has remained empty for four years. Such steps would go some way towards normalising relations between the two countries, and over the past two years Damascus has sought a "special relationship" with the US, which it hopes can be developed into greater bilateral, regional and international ties. In return for such a relationship, however, Washington is demanding that Damascus distance itself from Tehran since the Syrian-Iranian alliance "is a source of deep concern to Washington", according to US officials. Syria has thus far resisted US pressures, describing them as interference in its domestic affairs, and it has also refused to admit that the Syrian-Iranian alliance is contrary to its national interests, saying that it supports and strengthens Arab national interests. It is difficult to ascertain the warmth of the relationship between Syria and Iran at the present time, because despite clear signs of discord neither side is yet admitting that there are disagreements. Nonetheless, the writing on the wall is clear, and Damascus has signalled in its latest move that relations between the two countries are on shaky grounds. For the time being, however, Syrian officials have denied any such suspicion, insisting that relations continue as they were. Any disagreements between the two countries are "natural differences of opinion", they say, that do not subtract from the warm relationship between the two allies.
