Two axes, and we are the third!
Some politicians from various directions, whether nationalist or Islamic, in our Middle Eastern world talk about the region’s forced alignment into two axes:
- The Axis of Resistance and Confrontation led by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
- The Zionist Axis represented by Israel and its political and popular normalization project.
Therefore, all political forces in the Middle East must choose to align either with one side or the other.
Our vision in the Political Office of the Syrian Future Movement regarding the positioning of our country and its complex sensitivities, on one hand, and the vision of our Syrian people and their interests, on the other, can be summarized in five points:
The first, no one can impose their political vision on the Syrians. We have the ability and discernment, and we have experience in political work prior to the revolution. After the Syrian revolution, we have gained greater political depth and a more accurate understanding of the dynamics of the international system, in addition to the Syrian geopolitics and the complexities of foreign interventions in our country. Therefore, we can firmly reject any sectarian alignment impositions with strong positions and logical political justifications.
The second, we reject being drawn into imagined axes, and we refuse to describe the reality as forced. We do not have to choose the lesser of two evils, whether it be the Axis of Resistance or the Zionist Axis.
The third, Iran and its resistance axis stand in an antagonistic front against our Syrian people. Without a critical review on their part, genuine reconciliation, or compensation following a historical apology, and without the withdrawal of all its forces, bases, and militias, which continue to sharpen their knives against our Syrian regions, we cannot even consider initiating a new chapter with Iran. We have previously provided a vision in a study titled: “Iran and the Option to Reduce Hostility with the Syrian Opposition.”
The fourth, our position on Israel stems from a historically rejecting context throughout our region and from its occupying hostility toward the Syrian Golan. We desire to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to serve as a gateway for genuine peace and sustainable solutions that liberate our countries from the instability that benefits tyrants, evildoers, war mongers, and the extreme right.
The fifth, we view the balance between the two projects through a purely national and pragmatic lens. Thus, we reject favoring either the Iranian or the Israeli project. Rather, we consider them equally dangerous. Iran continues to wreak havoc in our land, supporting the tyrant of al-Muhajirin Palace, while Israel violates international law, killing civilians and innocents in Gaza, destroying lives and property, and possessing the military capability and desire to turn all of Syria into a second Gaza. Both axes support Bashar al-Assad’s regime, either on the ground like Iran and its militias or by influencing the region’s maps as happened in 2018 when Netanyahu requested Bashar al-Assad to remain with Russian guarantees, which was granted.
Through these five points, we precisely articulate our position, which establishes a third axis: the axis of rejecting the militia mentality supported by Iran and its entire resistance axis, and the rejection of the shredding and trampling of international laws practiced by the Israeli axis.
This position is based on three main pillars:
The first, supporting the principles of international law and human rights, reinforcing the role of the United Nations, and stopping and preventing violence.
The second, working toward building a strong, democratic national Syrian state that does not allow anyone to drag it into axes that contradict the Syrian national interest and the will of the Syrian people.
The third, if our region must follow one of these two projects, we have decided to choose the path of rationality, law, and humanity—a path that is unavoidable.
We uphold this path and invite others to it, heralding it and working to achieve it to protect our land, honor, and people.
