US special representative Amos Hochstein said that the rapid progress of Syrian rebels poses a threat to the power of President Bashar al-Assad. He also commented that the current situation has exposed the new weakness of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and their main ally Iran. British news agency Reuters reported this on Saturday (December 7).
While addressing a political conference in Doha, he said, Hezbollah is not finished yet. However, their position has been greatly weakened.
Iran has been a key supporter of the Assad regime in Syria's long civil war. They have sent allied forces, including Hezbollah and Iraqi militias, to bolster the Syrian military.
Hochstein said the current situation in Syria would make it more difficult for Iran to supply arms to Hezbollah. Besides, he expressed his opinion that Tehran is withdrawing support from Syria. However, he did not elaborate on this.
Iran has admitted to evacuating family members of embassy staff from Syria. But they denied the New York Times claim that the military was withdrawing.
Hochstein added that Hezbollah may not be strong enough to fight Israel or in a position to support the Assad regime. But you don't need to be very powerful to wield influence in Lebanon. This is why they can retain strong influence in Lebanon even after being weakened.
Meanwhile, two senior Lebanese security officials told Reuters on Friday that Hezbollah sent a small force from Lebanon into Syria on Thursday night. They have been sent there to help counter rebels trying to capture the key city of Homs.
Noting that he was not surprised by the defeat of the Syrian army last week, Hochstein said that the Syrian forces were much more powerful when the civil war started 13 years ago, because they were strongly supported by Iran and Russia.
