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How Iran Keeps Assad in Power in Syria
(Foreign Affairs) Geneive Abdo - The Iranian regime is one of the few remaining allies of the embattled Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. For Iran, Assad's Syria is the front line of defense against the United States and Israel. Without his guaranteed loyalty, the second line of defense - Hizbullah and Hamas - would crumble. According to U.S. estimates, Hizbullah receives $100 million in supplies and weaponry per year from Tehran, which is transported through Syria. Iran has taken significant measures to keep Assad in power. According to U.S. officials, as of April Iran was providing the Syrian security services with weapons, surveillance equipment, and training. The Iranian regime has also provided Assad with technology to monitor e-mail, cell phones, and social media. Iran's monitoring technology is believed to be among the most sophisticated in the world - second, perhaps, only to China. Iran shared its know-how with Syria this summer. Credible reports from Syrian refugees indicate that Tehran sent its own forces to Syria to quash the protests.