Special to WorldTribune.com

Syrian President Bashar Assad was in full celebratory mode on July 14 after Iran, his top regional ally, triumphed in a nuclear deal that was brokered by nations who support rebel efforts to oust him.

Rebels fighting Assad, meanwhile, were deeply concerned that the deal would expand Iranian influence in the region at their expense.

“This agreement will make the region more dangerous,” Iyad Shamse, leader of a rebel group in northern Syria called the Asala and Tanmieh Front, told Reuters. “Our fears from this agreement are an increase in Iranian influence in the region and this is what is making Assad happy.”

Assad sent a congratulatory telegram to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after the deal with major powers was announced on July 14, calling it “a major turning point” in the history of Iran and the world.

“We are confident that the Islamic Republic of Iran will support, with greater drive, just causes of nations and work for peace and stability in the region and the world,” Assad said, according to state news agency SANA.

Teheran’s support for Assad has come from Iran-backed terror organization Hizbullah, the deployment of Iranian military advisers, and the mobilization of Shi’ite fighters from the region.

Assad has suffered a number of setbacks on the battlefield, but rebels say it is the continued support from Teheran that has enabled the Syrian leader to survive.

Iran is backing Assad with “all its force,” said Shamse, who added he was concerned U.S. pressure would not be enough to stop Teheran from fully entering in the war and turning the tide in Assad’s favor.

“We are worried,” he said.

  Ali Khamenei, Assad congratulates Iran on nuclear deal, Hassan Rowhani, Syrian rebels ‘worried’, WorldTribune.com