Iraj Abedian: ANC, MTN on history’s wrong side - Iran’s Syrian ally Assad flees to Moscow

The weekend’s collapse of a 54-year Syrian dictatorship has dramatically altered Middle Eastern politics - and it is now clear that South Africa’s largest political party and mobile phone operator MTN backed a losing horse. Iranian-born and raised Iraj Abedian provides context on the dramatic collapse of the Assad family’s Syrian dynasty, which for over a decade had been propped up by Tehran and Moscow. The changes have implications for the ANC and MTN, both of whom profited greatly from their links to the Iranian regime and its Syrian ally. Although recently MTN exited Syria, its investment into and 15-year involvement in the dictatorship is sure to carry consequences - as are its continued operations in Iran.