Iran’s influence in the region has been significantly diminished by its ally President Bashar al-Assad's fall, Syria's de facto new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
At Lakan prison in Rasht, political prisoners held in the Misaq Ward are in quarantine-like conditions and are isolated and poorly equipped to weather cold winter months.
The small yard, barely four square meters in size, is surrounded by tall concrete walls topped with metal mesh, offering little in the way of ventilation or natural light.
Inside, the metal beds are short and lack mattresses, forcing prisoners to either sleep hunched over or on the damp, cold cement floors.
With the arrival of winter, the situation has worsened, with inmates forced to use thin, inadequate blankets to shield themselves from low temperatures just above the freezing point.
Despite these efforts, illness—ranging from colds to more serious flu outbreaks—has become widespread, especially among prisoners with preexisting health conditions.
Some of the men in the section are middle-aged and suffer from chronic joint pain, yet they are compelled to wash with ice-cold water as the ward lacks hot water and functional heaters. Frequent power outages only exacerbate the problem, as the prison’s heating system does not have a backup power supply, leaving inmates without warmth day and night.
Prison regulations make matters worse. Clothing from families is only accepted twice a year, and the garments must meet strict standards, with hats, zippers and decorations banned.
With the onset of cold weather, the prison administration has shut down the office responsible for distributing warm clothing, declaring that it is now impossible to provide such items to the inmates.
Conditions in the women’s section of Lakan prison, where around 150 female prisoners are held, are similarly grim.
According to Forough Saminiya, a women’s rights activist and prisoner in Lakan, the women’s quarters are cramped, and the kitchen only contains a samovar, leaving prisoners with little means to feed adequately feed themselves.
The prison food is described as substandard and barely provides sufficient nutrition.
Saminiya also highlighted the exploitative nature of the prison shop, which has been monopolized by a single individual.
With over 150 regular customers, the shop charges exorbitant prices for essential goods. For those with specific dietary needs—such as Saminiya, who suffers from diabetes—the shop offers little to accommodate their conditions.
“Maintaining a proper diet in Lakan Prison is impossible,” she said, lamenting the lack of vegetables and the need to avoid starch.
Systemic Abuse in Qarchak prison
Across the country in Qarchak Prison near Tehran, the conditions for women and children have also become increasingly dire.
Jila Baniyaghoob, a journalist and women’s rights activist, reported that almost all of the prisoners have fallen ill with colds, and there is a shortage of medicine.
Sick prisoners are only given two antibiotic capsules, an inadequate remedy for the health issues. In addition, the prison’s medical facilities are under-resourced, with the number of available medical visits severely limited—only five prisoners per ward are allowed to see the doctor at a time.
Baniyaghoob also pointed out the water shortages in Qarchak, where drinking water has been cut off for several days. "Clean water has been cut off for several days. Each prison ward, with over a hundred prisoners, has only one tap of clean water, which is used for brushing teeth, washing dishes, and drinking," she said.
The heating system in the prison is unreliable, leaving inmates to endure near freezing temperatures, especially in the winter. Despite these conditions, prison authorities prevent families from providing extra clothing or necessary items for warmth.
Qarchak Prison, situated in a desert region, has long been described as a symbol of the systematic human rights violations within Iran's prison system.
In its report, the Iran Human Rights Organization recently condemned the facility as a “hell for women and children.” Originally a poultry farm, the prison has been converted into overcrowded wards that lack basic amenities, such as adequate ventilation, safe drinking water, and sufficient toilets.
Prisoners are forced to endure unsanitary conditions, with vermin including cockroaches, mice and even poisonous spiders inhabiting the cells.
The authorities’ failure to address these issues has prompted growing international concern.
Human rights organizations continue to call for accountability, urging the Iranian government to respect the basic rights of prisoners, particularly political detainees, who face disproportionate hardships in an already overburdened system.
Her anguish mirrors the conflicted emotions of many Iranians following the events in Syria. For decades, their government funneled financial and military support to prop up Bashar al-Assad and his police state. And yet the much-feared dictatorship unraveled in less than ten days.
Fatemeh is 36. She’s been jailed twice in the past five years, each time for a few months. Like many other Iranians struggling with economic hardship, she doesn’t approve of giving money to the so-called Axis of Resistance in general. But to see with her own eyes the horrors that money bought repulsed her.
“I’ve seen countless images of Nazi death camps and other dictators’ prisons, but those feel like history. These are live broadcasts from the depths of hell,” Fatemeh says pointing at her laptop.
The fall of Assad has sparked hope for many Iranians that the Islamic Republic could be next. The events of the last few months, including the battering of Hamas and Hezbollah by Israel, has punctured the high-flying rhetoric of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. His air of invincibility is gone, the posturing notwithstanding.
"I’ve been arguing for a while that the Islamic Republic cannot be toppled because it’s cruel enough to jail and kill as many as it takes to survive," said Bahador, 40.
"My reference point was always Assad and his survival. But he’s gone now. And I can’t help thinking ‘what if’?”
Bahador owns a small company and—in relative terms—is well off. He says his friends call him Glum after the character in the cartoon Gulliver’s Travels who famously said "it’s hopeless" and "it will never work."
“I stopped hoping after the 2022 protests were crushed,” Bahador explains, “but the ecstasy you see in Syria these days is contagious. It’s hard not to dream again.”
He qualifies his optimism immediately, of course, noting the possibility that radical Islamists could take over Syria. He says he cannot help his fear of disappointment, which compels him to hedge his best hopes.
Still, you can tell that he is, indeed, hopeful. And he’s not alone.
"Since the first videos from Syria’s prisons surfaced, I can’t stop imagining that moment when the prison doors open and people walk free.” This is Mehdi, a sales assistant in an insurance company, who unlike Bahador dares to speak his dreams.
“I picture myself in their place—that moment of unconditional freedom, shared with everyone else, leaving no one behind. I really hope we get to see this. But I can’t stop thinking about the thousands that have been killed or gone missing under this system.”
The events in Syria have rekindled hope, but also shocked many. While the brutality of Assad’s regime was no secret, the full extent of its machinery of repression, especially in Sednaya prison, is beyond imagination.
And it has raised uncomfortable questions about prisons in Iran.
Many fear that similar horrors might exist here in Tehran or other cities, hidden from public view. The Islamic Republic is quite brazen about its actions. It openly executes and convicts dissidents, often in breach of its own laws and processes.
Still, Syria’s revelations have troubled many activists that the brutality we see may only be part of the story.
Past nightmares aside, the Syrian experience is closely watched in Iran for hints of what the future may hold.
Debates rage on social media. Some warn that Syria’s revolution could end like Iran’s, leading to new forms of oppression. Others argue that the Syrians are miles ahead already, managing a peaceful transition, not rushing to execute former officials as Iran’s revolutionaries did in 1979.
Arash, a 29-year old crypto-trader, captures the irony of shifting narratives.
"For years we were warned that Iran could become another Syria. Now we should warn Syrians not to become another Iran. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” Arash says, shaking his head.
“Every time we protested, they’d flaunt so-called security: ’appreciate that you’re safe in this country,’ they said. And we all know how fragile that security is.”
He’s referring to the Israeli airstrikes and other operations inside Iran.
For now, fears of a war with Israel have eased among Iranians. The saber-rattling has somewhat faded with Assad’s fall. In its stead, we see gentle moves to build a functioning relationship with Syria’s new rulers.
The will of the Syrian people will be respected, Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The irony!
Sharaa, whose radical Sunni Islamist group Hayat al-Tahrir Sham (HTS) swiftly defeated Assad's forces this month said Syria's opposition had “set the Iranian project in the region back by 40 years,” signaling a major shift in Syria’s stance toward Iran.
“By removing Iranian militias and closing Syria to Iranian influence, we’ve served the region’s interests—achieving what diplomacy and external pressure could not, with minimal losses.”
Sharaa's remarks to the Saudi-owned outlet appeared aimed at placating Arab nations and rejected any notion of Syria becoming a threat to its neighbors.
“We are now focused on state-building. Syria will not be a platform to threaten or unsettle any Arab or Gulf country,” he said.“The Syrian revolution ended with the regime's fall, and we will not allow it to spread elsewhere.”
The Assad dynasty was a key Arab ally of Tehran, which had been backing its fight against HTS and other rebel groups for over a decade.
He stressed that Syria will no longer serve as a base for actions that destabilize neighboring Arab or Gulf countries, indirectly criticizing Tehran’s past involvement. He pointed to how Syria had previously been used as a platform for Iran to exert control over key Arab capitals, fuel conflicts, and destabilize the Gulf region through activities such as the trafficking of drugs like Captagon.
Iran's Islamic government has been rattled by events in Syria, where it helped keep Assad in power since anti-government protests erupted in 2011. Its exit from Syria followed defeats its other ally, Hezbollah, suffered in Lebanon.
Criticism of Iran’s Influence
Al-Sharaa criticized Assad's reliance on Iran, accusing it of undermining Arab unity. He revealed that during a meeting with Jordanian officials, the ousted Syrian government was asked why it continued exporting Captagon to Jordan.
“The response was that it would not stop unless sanctions were lifted,” Al-Sharaa said, describing such policies as damaging and counterproductive.
According to some former Iranian officials, Tehran spent around $50 billion in Syria in the past decade, where it maintained a large military presence.
Rebuilding Relations with Arab Neighbors
Al-Sharaa highlighted Syria's goal of rebuilding and strengthening relations with Arab nations based on mutual respect and non-interference.
He pointed to the Gulf's advancements, particularly Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, as a development model Syria aims to emulate. Addressing concerns about Lebanon, he stressed Syria's commitment to balanced relations without interference in Lebanon's internal affairs, focusing instead on addressing its own domestic challenges.
Al-Sharaa emphasized the need for inclusivity in shaping Syria’s future, recognizing the diversity of opinions within the country and describing it as a natural and constructive element of society.
He highlighted his commitment to fostering national unity through adherence to the rule of law. Reflecting on the significance of holding the interview at the Presidential Palace, a site previously occupied by Assad, Al-Sharaa noted that it should be a space accessible to the people, symbolizing openness and a connection to the broader community.
The new administration’s approach, Al-Sharaa concluded, is centered on restoring Syria as a trusted member of the Arab world, free from external agendas.
