Where does Iran stand on Syria’s fast-moving dispute?

Al Jazeera :

Iran has continued to voice support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as opposition fighters carry on with a blistering military offensive that aims to overthrow the government.
The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkiye held Astana-format talks, joined by United Nations representatives in Qatar on Saturday, as more Syrian cities fell to the armed opposition groups.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters after the meeting in Doha that participants agreed that the conflict should end and that political dialogue needs to be established between the Syrian government and “legitimate opposition groups”.
He met with his Syrian and Iraqi counterparts in Baghdad a day earlier, their statement saying “continuous coordination, cooperation and diplomatic engagement” is the only way to avoid further escalation.
Tehran has emphasised the idea that the rebels are foreign-supported in an apparent effort to prevent this offensive from being seen as a mere continuation of the civil war in Syria – which had solidified al-Assad’s position after 13 years of fighting that destroyed much of the country.
Iran has also issued stern warnings that fighting in Syria could spread across the region, considering the high level of tension amid Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.
The opposition offensive started last week, just after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a shaky ceasefire deal that has held so far despite numerous violations.
It was launched from Idlib by the group controlling the governorate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), along with allied armed factions.
HTS’s chequered past saw it start as al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra until its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, embraced a more nationalistic – rather than transnational – mission and rebranded as HTS in 2017, ostensibly a more “moderate” group amid the factions competing for Syria.
Al-Julani has been at the forefront of a media campaign emphasising HTS’s reformed ways, being filmed in public in Aleppo multiple times, including this week after an Iranian lawmaker proudly proclaimed in parliament that he had been killed in a Russian air strike.