Did Iran Just Dump Assad? -- Blake Hounshell, Foreign Policy
Iran's Mehr News on Sunday published the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' "six-point plan" to supposedly solve the crisis in Syria.
The plan goes much further than Iran has publicly in the past, though it resembles Kofi Annan's much-maligned plan from the spring. It also doesn't mention one key point: What happens to Bashar al-Assad?
Here's where it gets more interesting. Apparently, Syrian vice president Farouk al-Sharaa has given an interview to Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper, which has generally taken a neutral line or one sympathetic to Assad. “We must be in the position of defending Syria’s existence. We are not in a battle for the survival of an individual or a regime," Sharaa reportedly said. Now which individual could he be talking about?
Read more ....
Update: Iran backs Syria presidential election, halt to arms shipments as parts of peace bid -- Washington Post/AP
My Comment: The details of Iran’s 6-point proposal on Syria can be read here .... and I do not see it as a "desertion" of Assad. What I see instead is an attempt to save the Assad regime as the rebels continue to gain strength and more military victories.