Iran admits that it's helping 'defend' Assad

Iran confirmed on Sunday that it has troops in Syria helping embattled dictator Bashar al-Assad. The admission came a day after Assad's troops killed over 100 people in the town of Hula, including 'tens' of children.

"If the Islamic Republic was not present in Syria, the massacre of civilians would have been twice as bad," General Ismail Qa'ani, deputy-commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force, told Tehran's ISNA news agency.

Iran, he added, "Had physically and non-physically stopped the rebels from killing many more among the Syrian people."

This was a rare admission by an Iranian official that Tehran was truly aiding the Damascus regime.

The quote was later removed from ISNA's website.

Sunday's statement was particularly strident, as it followed the brutal killing of 92 people, including 32 children, in Houla, in the embattled province of Homs, by Damascus' forces.

Syria has denied that its troops were behind the massacre.

Meanwhile, Syria has denied permission for former 'Palestinian' foreign minister Nasser al-Kidwa to accompany former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on a mission to Damascus. Annan is the Arab League's envoy to Syria and al-Kidwa is his deputy. I wonder how much Arabic Annan speaks....

In any event, it appears to me that Ahmadinejad is worried that Hamas and Hezbullah are not going to take the hit for him in the event that he attacks Israel, and that they will try to stay out of the retaliation. Assad is much more reliable. Iran's support for Assad is the quid pro quo for participating in any retaliation against Israel, delivered in advance.

What could go wrong?