With each passing day, the depth and breadth of Iran's support for Assad's floundering regime becomes ever more apparent. The latest news to emerge from Syria is that sophisticated technology supplied by Russia and Iran is boosting Assad's chances of staging a comeback against the brave opposition fighters. Equally revealing is the magnitude of the assistance provided by Hezbollah to Assad's brutal war machine. Hezbollah fighters deeply entrenched with Assad's men are engaged in several battles in and around Damascus, and near strategic town of Qusayer and elsewhere.

Over the past several months both Iran and Hizb-e-Iran (Hezbollah) have categorically denied their involvement in propping-up Assad's tyrannical rule, but now they openly embrace Assad as if he is part of their family. Together they have redoubled their efforts to shed Muslim blood on an unimaginable scale, and in the process have committed horrific war crimes.

The focus of their anger is directed towards the Sunni population of Syria whom they regard as an existential threat to their influence. Indeed, Hizb-e-Iran views the Islamic character of the uprising with deep trepidation. Recently, Nasrallah used the term ‘takfiri' to describe the Islamic threat emerging from Syria and as a justification for intervention.  This is ironic, as he chooses to embrace a Shia heretic Assad who is an Alawaite, and mainstream Shias consider Alawaites infidels.

Meanwhile, Tehran has thrown in its lot with the heretical regime of Assad and is petrified by the Islamic resurgence in Syria. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, "We will not allow the Syrian government to be overthrown."

But if anyone had any doubt about the sincerity of Iran and its surrogate Hizb-e-Iran in defending the interests of the Islamic world they should look no further than Israel's attack on Damascus last month. Both were unashamedly exposed as they stuttered to offer a muzzled response. They clearly preferred the killing of Syrians instead of fighting their sworn enemy - the Jewish state. Yet, this is not the first time that Iran in particular has failed to come to the aid of the Muslim Ummah. The two Gulf wars, America's occupation of Afghanistan and Israel's war with Lebanon is ample of evidence of Tehran's duplicity and inactivity in defending the interests of the Islam.

While Iran is no friend of Sunni Islam, Tehran's treatment of fellow Shias is equally damming. In the second Gulf war, Tehran watched silently as the Americans fought and killed Shias in the cities of Najaf and Karbala. Tehran's apathy was repeated again in 2006, when Israel attacked Lebanon. During the war, Tehran did not even come to the aid of its staunchest ally Hezbollah and only offered moral support. In all of these examples, Tehran was only concerned with fortifying the hegemony of America and Israel.

The Shia leadership of the present is of the same ilk as the Shia leadership of the past. They prefer to side with the enemies of Islam, and do not care what happens to Sunnis or Shias. In the thirteenth century, Iben Al-Alqami a Shia politician and part of the Caliph al-Mustasim political entourage betrayed the Caliph and sided with Hulagu Khan by offering him intelligence and advice. Alqami's treachery allowed Hulagu Khan to ransack Baghdad and in the ensuing slaughter Hulagu's army did not differentiate between the killing of Sunnis or Shias.  Ibn Katheer then says, "After the Caliph was killed, they went and stormed through the country, killing everyone they were able to from men, women, and children, old and young, sick and healthy....The killing continued until it was said that the number of dead reached one million eight thousand bodies."

Shias should deeply reflect on the actions of their present leadership and they must resist in getting drawn into sectarian conflicts that only benefit foreign powers and their surrogates in Iran and Hizb-e-Iran. Rather they should support the re-establishment of the rightly guided Caliphate, where they can live in peace as citizens of the Islamic state and wait for the return of the Mahdi.

Abed Mostapha