Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it is looking for ways to seek repayment of the billions of dollars owed by the former Syrian regime.

Iran's public has become increasingly critical of successive administrations for lending more than $50bn to the former Assad regime, which collapsed on December 8. Following Assad’s departure, people have become increasingly critical amid ongoing gas and power cuts across the country, siphoning funds away from the country over the past decade.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, speaking in Tehran in an unheated room with a scarf on, said the ministry could follow up on and arrange reimbursement and that the issue would form part of Iran’s future dealings with the new Damascus government.

He also noted that the two countries' agreements and memoranda of understanding remained valid; however, the transitional Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa has not yet confirmed that it will honour any contracts or memoranda signed by Assad's previous regime.

Under international law, Baqaei said commitments and rights are passed on to new governments, ensuring the continuation of bilateral obligations.

“Agreements, treaties, and memorandums of understanding concluded between the two countries are between the two countries,” indicating it is territorial rather than regime-based.

“Therefore, all these commitments, obligations, and rights naturally exist between the two countries and do not disappear,” the official added.

“Any system and governance that comes to power in any country based on the principle of state succession, which is a principle that is accepted in international law, that rights and obligations will be transferred,” he said, adding. “Certainly, this is one of the issues that will remain on our agenda,” he noted.

In recent years, Iranian officials and lawmakers have cited differing figures for Syria’s debts and the total costs Iran has incurred in the conflict.

Former MP Bahram Parsaei said Syria owed at least $30bn. At the same time, other officials across the Islamic Republic have become increasingly vocal about the missing investments, with some saying investments could have exceeded $50bn.

Tehran’s assistance has not been limited to military backing. In 2016, then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (now a non-elected advisor) said Iran’s non-military aid—medicines, medical equipment, foodstuffs, and other goods—had reached $2.8bn since the start of the conflict.

Senior adviser Yahya Rahim Safavi said in 2018 that reconstructing war-damaged Syria could cost $300bn to $400bn, adding that Damascus might repay its obligations with oil, gas, and phosphate reserves.

Iran also extended multiple lines of credit to Syria throughout the war. According to a 2016 International Monetary Fund report, credit lines totalling nearly $5.9bn between 2011 and 2015 were the sole formal external financial support to the Syrian government. Subsequently, additional credit lines worth $1bn were introduced, some as recently as 2020.

One of Iran’s significant issues is its giant private MAPNA Group, which has several existing contracts in Syria. In August 2023, the company announced it had invested at least €6.5bn in the nearby country, now those contracts look in jeopardy. 

Following the spokesman’s comments, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi told Al Nahar newspaper: "Contrary to the media atmosphere, I didn't see Syria's developments as unexpected. Why the fall happened so quickly requires studying three elements: ground, time, and context. The developments that appeared very quick and surprising on the surface had real foundations with at least a 10-12 year history."

He added: “Our support for Syria was support for a country at the official request of the established government to prevent the domination of terrorism and the horrific extremism of ISIS.”

The Iranian minister’s comments come from the 11th Summit of the D8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation in Cairo, which Aragchi will attend.

Held under the theme “Investing in Youth and Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises: Shaping the Economy of Tomorrow,” the summit marks Egypt’s leadership of the organisation, which it assumed in May and will continue to lead until the end of 2025.