Syria's interim government warns Iran against 'spreading chaos' in the country

Newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al Shibani calls on Tehran to respect Syria's sovereignty

Ahmad Al Shara, de facto leader of Syria's new administration, with new Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al Shibani.

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The newly appointed Foreign Minister in Syria's interim government, Asaad Hassan Al Shibani, warned Tehran not to spread chaos in Syria and to respect the country's sovereignty and its people's will as Syria moves towards a new chapter in its relations with Iran.

“Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and the country's sovereignty and security. We warn them from spreading chaos in Syria and we hold them accountable for the repercussions of the latest remarks,” Mr Al Shibani posted on X.

In a televised speech on Sunday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to “stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity”.

“We predict that a strong and honourable group will also emerge in Syria because today Syrian youth have nothing to lose. Their schools, universities, homes, and streets are unsafe,” Mr Khamenei said.

Syria is struggling with the uncertainty of its new reality after the fall of president Bashar Al Assad. Mr Al Assad fled to Russia after militant rebels, lead by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, overthrew him in a lightning offensive almost three weeks ago and created a new authority in the capital Damascus.

Fighting, however, continues over control of the north, where the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have launched a counter-offensive against the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) to take back areas near border with Turkey. Both sides have been engaged in weeks of intense fighting since Mr Al Assad was deposed, with the SNA capturing the city of Manbij and areas around it.

Washington considers the SDF a vital ally in preventing a resurgence of ISIS in Syria. Ankara sees the SDF as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it classifies as a terrorist organisation.

Ruken Jamal, a representative of the Women’s Protection Units, or YPJ, under the SDF, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that their fighters are just over 10 kilometres away from the centre of Manbij in their continuing counter-offensive. Ms Jamal accused Ankara of trying to weaken the group’s influence in negotiations over Syria’s political future through the SNA.

“Syria is now in a new phase, and discussions are under way about the future of the country,” Ms Jamal said. “Turkey is trying, through its attacks, to distract us with battles and exclude us from the negotiations in Damascus.”

UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that since SNA’s offensive in northern Syria against the Kurds started earlier this month, dozens have been killed from both sides. It also said on Tuesday that the SDF, following overnight fighting, reclaimed four villages in areas near the strategic Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates.

While the SNA was involved in the offensive that toppled the former regime, it has continued its push against the SDF. On Monday, the SDF spokesman Farhad Shami said the group's forces pushed back the Turkish-backed rebels from areas near the dam. He said the SDF also destroyed a tank belonging to the rebels south-east of Manbij.

Turkish-backed armed groups and Turkish fighter jets for years have attacked positions where the SDF are largely present across northern Syria, in a bid to create a buffer zone free from the group along the large shared border.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Kurdish militants in Syria will either lay down their weapons or "be buried in Syrian lands along with their weapons".

Speaking to members of his AK Party, Mr Erdogan also said Turkey would soon open its consulate in Aleppo, and that it expected an increase in traffic at its borders in the summer of next year as some of the millions of Syrian migrants it hosts begin returning home.

During Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s landmark visit to Syria last week, he maintained his country's strong position on the SDF in his meeting with de facto leader Ahmad Al Shara.

“It has turned the region into a cauldron of terror with PKK members and far-left groups who have come from Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Europe,” Mr Fidan said in a news conference after the meeting. “The international community is turning a blind eye to this lawlessness because of the wardenship it provides (against ISIS).”

SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi expressed concern about a strong ISIS resurgence due to the power vacuum in Syria and the continuing fighting, which has left the Kurdish-led group unable to carry out its attacks and raids on the extremist group’s scattered sleeper cells.

Tens of thousands of children, family members, and supporters of ISIS militants are still held in large detention centres in north-eastern Syria, in areas under SDF control.