Nasrallah knows it’s over for Al-Assad

Anyone who reads – and here I say “read” and not “look” – Hassan Nasrallah’s interview with Al Mayadeen channel carefully, in which he defends Bashar al-Assad and Iran, will realize from the text of the interview, that Nasrallah is now more convinced than ever that the end is in sight for the tyrant of Damascus. Despite the length of Nasrallah’s interview, the large number of issues he was asked about, and his misleading defense of the interests of Iran, with the Hezbollah leader presenting his interpretation of events in the region and his vision of some Arab states according to the perspective of Iran and Hezbollah, a close reading still brings one very important point to light. This point was embodied in Nasrallah’s answer to the following question on Syria, as asked by the broadcaster who said: “If there was military intervention in Syria in order to overthrow the regime and save the Syrian people, as the opposition say, what could Iran do in this situation?” And here Nasrallah answered, according to the text: “I do not know”. Yes, Nasrallah said “I do not know”, yet when he was asked what the situation would be if Israel attacked Iran, he began his answer by directly echoing what he had heard from Iranian officials, and not only this, he also threatened Israel! In this interview, and especially in the part regarding the Syrian situation, Nasrallah was not as stoic or resilient as usual, rather his answers indicate that he is aware the situation in Syria is not developing in a manner than his allies Iran and al-Assad would like, especially when he said: “To be fair, you cannot demand a regime to surrender, and this is a regime, not an individual, just like you cannot demand the opposition to surrender”. This is not the only quote from the interview that shows that Nasrallah has become more realistic about Syria, even more than Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Nasrallah, speaking on the the crisis of the kidnapped Lebanese in Syria, said: “If anyone wants to convince us of their position regarding what is happening in Syria, we are available for discussions, we have not closed the door on anyone!” Likewise he said, addressing those responsible for the kidnappings: “This image will not reassure anyone of the future coming to Syria”. This means that Nasrallah is not only convinced of the fall of al-Assad, but he is even talking about Syria in its future form! Therefore I would say that Nasrallah has now become more realistic than Minister Lavrov with regards to Syria, although it is noticeable that Russia is calling upon its citizens not to travel to Syria, and to leave Syrian territory via a secure exit, which means that some in Russia have realized that al-Assad’s final hour is approaching, for he no longer controls vast areas of Syrian territory or border points. Here it is natural for the reader to wonder: Why has Nasrallah suddenly become informed with regards to Syria? The answer is simple; al-Assad is tottering in Damascus. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.