Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic Hof is quoted by USA Today on the Russian-Iranian relationship as it relates to Syria:
“Russia and Iran share the objective of perpetuating Bashar al-Assad in power for as long as possible but they have completely different reasons for wanting that result,” says Fred Hof, who led the Obama administration’s failed effort to seek peace talks between Syria and Israel before the outbreak of Syria’s civil war. The U.S. goal at the time was to break the link between Iran and the powerful Hezbollah militant group inLebanon, which Iran supplies through Syria.
“The Iranians have come to the conclusion based on 15 years of evidence that Bashar Assad personally is crucial to helping them maintain support for Hezbollah,” said Hof, who is now at the Atlantic Council think tank.