Iran claims victory with Assad’s anticipated win in Syrian election

The Washington Post

BEIRUT — As Syrians went to the polls Tuesday, President Bashar al-Assad’s chief ally, Iran, was trumpeting his anticipated reelection as a defeat for the United States.

Top Iranian officials in recent days have issued a flurry of declarations celebrating not only the affirmation of Assad’s continued hold on power that the election represents but also Iran’s role in sustaining him.

The United States has repeatedly dismissed the presidential election taking place Tuesday as a “parody” because the outcome is guaranteed by rules written by the Assad regime. There are no serious contenders challenging Assad’s bid to be reelected for a third seven-year term in office, there will be no independent observers, and many parts of the country are either controlled by rebels or engulfed in fighting.

Iran, however, dispatched a team of monitors Monday to observe the voting, part of an extensive effort to mirror failed U.S. policies in Syria with initiatives asserting ownership of the crisis.

“Foreign powers should give up their illusions about fulfilling their personal desires and strategies through military methods in Syria,” Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told a Friends of Syria conference in Tehran over the weekend. The choice of name seemed intended as a deliberate jab at the U.S.-backed Friends of Syria alliance created to support the Syrian opposition.