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Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Sunday said that the leader of the Syrian opposition and President of the Syrian National Coalition Ahmad Jarba would be the “most inappropriate person” to lead the country while confirming that Iran would send its observers to the Presidential elections in Syria next month.
“In our opinion, when it comes to politics, Ahmad Jarba is a weak person … he is the most inappropriate person for the future of Syria. He does not know who to meet in his foreign meetings”, Abdollahian was quoted as saying to the official IRNA news agency, referring to the talks between Ahmad Jarba and the head of People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), Maryam Rajavi, who currently lives in exile.
Jarba is not running for the Presidency against Bashar al-Assad. The elections have been described as a “farce” by the opposition in Syria, and as a “parody of democracy” by the US government. Jarba has for the past three years sought to overthrow President Bashar Assad. Earlier this month, he visited the White House and spoke alongside US Secretary of State John Kerry. During the visit, Jarba said that the opposition chief “understands better than anybody, the stakes and the struggle and the fight against extremism” in Syria.
Amir Abdollahian also said that a parliamentary delegation will be sent to Syria to oversee the vote count. Syrian Parliamentary speaker Mohammad al-Lahham had last week, invited “friendly countries” to send observers to Syria.
The PMOI had taken up arms against Iranian rule after the Islamic revolution in 1979. The Iranian government holds it responsible for the murder of thousands of Iranian officials and civilians. Iran has so far sent only military experts to Syria and has provided the Assad regime with humanitarian aid.
