One-sentence summary: Damascus signals a legal and political showdown with Tehran, framing Iranian “debts” as the cost of destruction inflicted on Syria.
Syria is preparing legal claims against Iran that could be worth many times more than the debts Tehran says Damascus owes, Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad Yasser Barnieh revealed on Saturday.
In a television interview with the “Syria Now” network, Barnieh said the Iranian debt file is one of the most complex political and financial issues facing the country. He stressed that the Syrian Finance Ministry is handling the matter as a sovereign right of the Syrian state, not merely as a conventional financial obligation.
According to Barnieh, any Iranian demand for repayment will be met with Syrian counterclaims worth tens of times more, reflecting the massive destruction of infrastructure and the heavy human losses caused by Iranian intervention. He described Iran’s demands as “despicable debts,” arguing they do not represent legitimate financial obligations but rather the cost of a military intervention that left widespread devastation, thousands killed, and millions displaced.