As the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, many American news outlets have highlighted Moscow’s intransigent diplomatic position and its efforts to keep the genocidal Assad regime in power. However, Damascus’ regional ally, Iran, has also provided a staggering amount of assistance and military assets. While many are aware of Tehran’s nominal ties to Hezbollah and close relationship with the Assad regime, a qualitative and quantitative analysis of Iran’s assistance to Damascus rarely makes headlines on the evening news. To better understand this dimension of the Syrian conflict, the House subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a hearing on the security implications of the Iran-Syrian nexus.
The panel of witnesses included former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton from AEI; the executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Mark Dubowitzl and the Senior Program Officer for Conflict Management at the U.S Institute of Peace, Dr. Daniel Brumberg.
Much of the hearing focused on U.S. policy towards Iran and effective ways to cripple its influence.
Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s (R-FL) opening remarks included many criticisms of the Obama administration for, in her opinion, lack of resolve to prevent and mitigate Iran’s assistance to Syria. Further, she called for greater efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program.
Ranking Minority Member Rep. Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL) focused on the fact that with Hezbollah’s and Iran’s help, Assad has stabilized and controlled large swaths of territory. He stated that the Assad opposition estimates that Tehran is giving Assad $500 million dollars a month and 5 tons of military equipment a day.
Much of the witness statements and remarks focused on the political perspectives of Iran’s President-elect Hassan Rouhani. Much of the Western press has labeled Mr. Rouhani as a moderate but former UN Amb. Bolton was not convinced. The oft described neocon, Ambassador Bolton said Mr. Rouhani has charmed Western diplomats during his 30 years of government and thus given Iran more time to develop its nuclear capabilities.
Mr. Durkowitz also rejected the notion of Rouhani being a moderate. He noted that in order to be able to run for president in Iran, he must first be selected by the Supreme Leader. He argued that Rouhani has been complicit and has not challenged the machinations of the Ayatollah. He agreed with Ambassador Bolton that Rouhani has deceived Western countries on the development of Iran’s nuclear program.
All panelists agreed that tougher sanctions are necessary and will not work on their own. Mr. Durkowitz called for sanctions that would bring Iran’s economy to the “verge of collapse.” Dr. Brumberg said that American policy should explicitly state reasoning behind sanctions. He said sanctions intended for regime change look different than sanctions used as a bargaining chip during negotiations. Ambassador Bolton said economic sanctions only work if they are utterly comprehensive. The Ambassador appeared to favor a sanctions policy that focused on regime change, while Dr. Brumberg and Mr. Durkowitz desired sanctions policy as a bargaining chip to improve negotiations.
Photo: Sonia Sevilla
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Reducing Iran’s Regional Influence
August 3, 2013
As the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, many American news outlets have highlighted Moscow’s intransigent diplomatic position and its efforts to keep the genocidal Assad regime in power. However, Damascus’ regional ally, Iran, has also provided a staggering amount of assistance and military assets. While many are aware of Tehran’s nominal ties to Hezbollah and close relationship with the Assad regime, a qualitative and quantitative analysis of Iran’s assistance to Damascus rarely makes headlines on the evening news. To better understand this dimension of the Syrian conflict, the House subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a hearing on the security implications of the Iran-Syrian nexus.
The panel of witnesses included former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton from AEI; the executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Mark Dubowitzl and the Senior Program Officer for Conflict Management at the U.S Institute of Peace, Dr. Daniel Brumberg.
Much of the hearing focused on U.S. policy towards Iran and effective ways to cripple its influence.
Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s (R-FL) opening remarks included many criticisms of the Obama administration for, in her opinion, lack of resolve to prevent and mitigate Iran’s assistance to Syria. Further, she called for greater efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program.
Ranking Minority Member Rep. Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL) focused on the fact that with Hezbollah’s and Iran’s help, Assad has stabilized and controlled large swaths of territory. He stated that the Assad opposition estimates that Tehran is giving Assad $500 million dollars a month and 5 tons of military equipment a day.
Much of the witness statements and remarks focused on the political perspectives of Iran’s President-elect Hassan Rouhani. Much of the Western press has labeled Mr. Rouhani as a moderate but former UN Amb. Bolton was not convinced. The oft described neocon, Ambassador Bolton said Mr. Rouhani has charmed Western diplomats during his 30 years of government and thus given Iran more time to develop its nuclear capabilities.
Mr. Durkowitz also rejected the notion of Rouhani being a moderate. He noted that in order to be able to run for president in Iran, he must first be selected by the Supreme Leader. He argued that Rouhani has been complicit and has not challenged the machinations of the Ayatollah. He agreed with Ambassador Bolton that Rouhani has deceived Western countries on the development of Iran’s nuclear program.
All panelists agreed that tougher sanctions are necessary and will not work on their own. Mr. Durkowitz called for sanctions that would bring Iran’s economy to the “verge of collapse.” Dr. Brumberg said that American policy should explicitly state reasoning behind sanctions. He said sanctions intended for regime change look different than sanctions used as a bargaining chip during negotiations. Ambassador Bolton said economic sanctions only work if they are utterly comprehensive. The Ambassador appeared to favor a sanctions policy that focused on regime change, while Dr. Brumberg and Mr. Durkowitz desired sanctions policy as a bargaining chip to improve negotiations.
Photo: Sonia Sevilla
