{"id":1624,"date":"2025-05-01T15:05:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T15:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jagsystem.com\/"},"modified":"2025-05-01T15:05:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T15:05:57","slug":"ira-tinha-grandes-planos-para-a-siria-mas-documentos-secretos-mostram-por-que-eles-fracassaram","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/israelagora.com.br\/en\/?page_id=1624","title":{"rendered":"Iran had big plans for Syria, but secret documents show why they failed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad walk past the guard of honour in Damascus January 19, 2006. Syria said on Thursday Iran had a right to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful means and demanded Israel be stripped of its suspected nuclear arsenal.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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\r\n\t#Iran<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>

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\r\n\tDamascus, Syria – Iran dreamed of turning Syria into a strong economic and political ally, modeled on the United States’ plan to rebuild Europe after World War II, known as the Marshall Plan<\/strong><\/p>

Secret documents found at the Iranian embassy in Damascus reveal how those ambitious plans failed due to corruption, international sanctions, financial problems and, ultimately, the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nA 33-page official study, dated May 2022 and produced by an Iranian economic unit in Syria, outlined a blueprint for rebuilding war-torn Syria.<\/p>

\r\nThe plan included investments in infrastructure such as factories, power plants and bridges, with the aim of creating Syria’s economic, political and cultural dependence on Iran.<\/p>

\r\nThe document cited a $400 billion opportunity and compared the strategy to the Marshall Plan, which made Europe dependent on the United States.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nBut those plans fell apart when anti-Iran rebels toppled Assad in December.<\/p>

\r\nThe former president fled to Russia, and Iranian diplomats, paramilitaries and businesses fled Syria in a rush.<\/p>

\r\nThe Iranian embassy in Damascus was ransacked by Syrians celebrating Assad’s downfall, leaving behind papers that show the challenges faced by Iranian investors.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nReuters journalists found such documents at the embassy and elsewhere in the Syrian capital, including contracts, letters and infrastructure plans.<\/p>

\r\nThey interviewed Iranian and Syrian businessmen, investigated Iranian companies facing sanctions and visited abandoned investments such as religious sites, factories and military installations.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe projects included a “411m power plant in Latakia that has stalled, an abandoned oil drilling project in the Syrian desert, and a $26m railway bridge over the Euphrates River that was destroyed by a US airstrike and never repaired.<\/p>

\r\nThese projects have faced militant attacks, local corruption, Western sanctions and bombings.<\/p>

\r\nThe documents show that by the end of the war, Syria owed at least $178m to Iranian companies on the projects listed alone.<\/p>

\r\nFormer Iranian lawmakers estimate that the Assad government’s total debt to Iran was more than $30bn.<\/p>

\r\nHassan Shakhesi, an Iranian trader, lost “16m worth of vehicle parts that had been shipped to the port of Latakia shortly before Assad fled.<\/p>

\r\n“I set up an office and a house in Syria, and now it’s all gone,” he said.<\/p>

\r\nThe goods have disappeared and he has not been paid.<\/p>

\r\n“I hope that Iran’s long history with Syria will not be erased.<\/p>

\r\nNow I need to look for business elsewhere.”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nWhy the plan failed<\/b>\r\n<\/p>

\r\nIran began investing in Syria long before the civil war, with companies such as Mapna Group, which had been building power plants since 2008.<\/p>

\r\nThese investments grew as Western sanctions isolated the two countries.<\/p>

\r\nThe relationship between Iran and Syria began in 1979, after the Iranian Revolution, when Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, became the first Arab leader to recognize the new Islamic republic.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThroughout the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, Iran supported Assad with weapons, troops and investment, helping him to stay in power.<\/p>

\r\nHowever, the economic projects faced problems from the start.<\/p>

\r\nThe Latakia plant, for example, suffered from late payments, corruption and low-skilled workers.<\/p>

\r\nA Syrian engineer who worked on the project said Syria insisted on using a company linked to the Assad family, which hired people with no experience.<\/p>

\r\nOther Iranian companies, such as Copper World, have also faced difficulties.<\/p>

\r\nIn 2012, rebels stole a cargo worth millions of dollars, and the company suffered from corruption and fluctuations in the Syrian currency.<\/p>

\r\nDespite this, Iran continued to invest, offering billions of dollars in credit lines to Syria between 2013 and 2015. <\/p>

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\r\n The man behind the plan<\/b><\/p>

\r\n Abbas Akbari, a construction manager in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was tasked with leading economic plans in Syria from 2022. He was the head of the Headquarters for the Development of Economic Relations between Iran and Syria, which produced the Marshall Plan-inspired study.<\/p>

\r\nAkbari tried to navigate the problems by suggesting partnerships with influential figures in Syria, but the results were limited.<\/p>

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\r\nThe end of the Iranian dream<\/b>\r\n<\/p>

\r\nAssad’s fall marked the collapse of Iran’s plans.<\/p>

\r\nIn addition, Israeli strikes have weakened Iran’s allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>

\r\nThe Iranian embassy in Damascus was destroyed by an Israeli strike in April 2024, and Iranian staff fled after Assad’s fall.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nFor Syrians, the departure of Assad and the Iranian-backed militias was cause for celebration.<\/p>

\r\nBut some Syrians who worked for Iranian companies, such as the engineer at the Latakia plant, lament the loss of their jobs.<\/p>

\r\n“Iran was a reality here, and I made a living from it,” he said, fearing reprisals for having worked with Iranians.<\/p>

\r\nThe new Syrian government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former rebel from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, does not see paying off debts to Iran as a priority.<\/p>

\r\n“The Syrian people have a wound caused by Iran, and we need time to heal it,” Sharaa said.<\/p>

\r\nIn the meantime, Syria faces the challenge of rebuilding the country with many infrastructure projects stalled.<\/p>

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Published in 05\/01\/2025 15h05<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Portuguese version<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.<\/p>\r\n\t\t

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Reference article:<\/p>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\r\n\r\n