Backing Bashar al-Assad through Syria's civil war and dismissing chemical-weapons accusations
Khamenei was a central backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a war that killed hundreds of thousands. He called US chemical-weapons accusations against Damascus a pretext, hosted Assad in Tehran in 2019 and 2022, and after Assad's fall in December 2024 blamed a US-Israeli plan.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Calls chemical-weapons claims a 'pretext' to attack Syria - Al Arabiya and The Times of Israel reported that after the Ghouta chemical attack near Damascus, as the US weighed military strikes, Khamenei said the chemical-weapons claim was a 'pretext' for intervention and warned the United States would suffer if it attacked. Iran's Khamenei: US claims a pretext for intervention in Syria
- Hosts Assad on his first Iran visit since the war began - Reuters reported that Bashar al-Assad met Khamenei in Tehran on his first visit to Iran since the Syrian war began. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was absent from the meeting, announced his resignation on Instagram the same night. Iran's foreign minister Zarif announces resignation on Instagram
- Meets Assad again in Tehran - Reuters and Al Jazeera reported that Assad made a surprise visit to Tehran, meeting Khamenei and then-President Ebrahim Raisi, and that Khamenei praised Syria's standing after the war and the two countries' ties. Syria's al-Assad meets Iranian leaders in surprise Tehran visit
- Says Assad's fall was the result of a US-Israeli plan - Reuters and Al Jazeera reported that days after Assad's government collapsed, Khamenei said its fall was the result of a joint US-Israeli plan and that a neighbouring state of Syria had also played a role. Iran's Khamenei says al-Assad ouster a US-Israeli plot, blames neighbour