Why thousands of Iranians are fighting in Syria
January 19, 2017
Political, ideological and economic factors have contributed to the flow of fighters from Iran to Syria, analysts say.
A letter from a young woman to her fallen husband, a pro-Assad fighter in Syria, was recently published in Tasnim News, one of Iran’s most prominent news agencies affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“This shrine [the Zaynab shrine] is sacred … I am worried about people who throw stones at it and so I sent you to protect it. But I, like you, are immersed in the love of Zaynab and that is what keeps me strong in your absence. I sent you on your way and you had to defend the shrine of Zaynab and I had to wait. I am satisfied and thankful to God to have lost one of the best people of my life for the sake of Zaynab and the Guide [Ayatollah Khomeini].”
The letter is signed by Puya, the wife of Ruhollah Qurbani, a 17-year-old soldier recently killed in Aleppo. Puya’s was just one of dozens of emotive affirmations from fallen soldiers’ wives that circulated in Iran recently via the state channel Ofogh TV and Iran’s video-sharing platform, Aparat.
