It's very simple: Because the majority of Syrians support Assad! That is why Iran still supports Assad.
If Assad really had no legitamacy any more, then why don't the syrian oppostion want Assad to take part in free elections?
The oppostion, NATO, the Saudi and Qatar, they all want Assad to leave power before there is a free internationally-supervised election. Why? If the majority of Syrians really were against Assad, then a free internationally-supervised election would be the best way to prove it.
They all know, that even in a free election, Assad would become president, and that is the reason why they are so determined to push Assad out before there are elections.
Just wait and see: After the armed oppostion is crushed, there will be free, internationally-supervised presidential elections, Assad will take part in this internationally-supervised elections, and then we will see which country really stood at the side of the Syrian population - Iran or the West/Turkey/Saudi/Qatar.
(By the way: A article by CNN....are you serious?)
majority of Syrians support Assad
there is no proof for this on the ground, only a free and fair election can prove this, so Iran cannot support Assad based on this premise
If Assad really had no legitamacy any more
Assad has no legitimacy to become a candidate because long before there were any armed protest, he killed thousands of unarmed protesters. He had ample opportunity to go for an election, but instead he decided to suppress the protests by killing people
What Saudi and Qatar want is irrelevant, they would have no opportunity to poke their nose, if Assad did not start his killing spree with his Shabiha thugs
It remains to be seen who will be crushed.
I am sorry to say, but you are not making arguments, you believe in certain world view and it sounds like you want to impose this view on others.
CNN just like RT, pressTV or other media outlets are just mouth pieces of their sponsors/owners.
What I know is that Alawi in Syria has been a despised, marginalized and serf like minority under Ottoman Sunni rule for centuries. After fall of Ottoman, under French rule they got into armed forces and in Bath party in good numbers and eventually took over the state. Since then they have been ruling Syria with iron-fist in collaboration with some Sunni population who got rich and comfortable working with this regime, but vast majority of Syrians have been suffering.
So when you claim that Assad has mass support it only exposes your bias, not mine or that of CNN.
The real reason Iranian regime support Assad I believe is to maintain a shia unity and de facto supremacy over this region using Assad regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iranian regime is using religious sectarian (shia) solidarity to further these geopolitical and geo-strategic goals.
In principle I am not against using religion or religious solidarity for geo-political or geo-strategic ends, but what I object to is the subversion of greater Muslim interest, while pursuing these goals for a very small section (10-15%) of the Muslim population.
If we look at the recent historical back ground, after fall of Ottoman, the former Ottoman Arab provinces were divided into small nation states according to a secret Sykes Picot agreement between France and UK. In some of these provinces the Shia became majority population. If and when the region integrates into a greater GCC (GCC+ as I like to call it), then many of these majority shia population will become minority again, unless of course Iran joins this GCC.
The West has deliberately fragmented the region to rule easily and to extract resources cheaply. Israel was established also on these Ottoman fragmented pieces. Iran using its oil wealth has also gotten involved in this region with a Pan-shia ideology much later, just like GCC Sunni's are spreading some of their ideas and views using their own oil wealth.
By supporting Assad, Iran risks alienating the rest of Sunni Muslim world of 1.4 billion people, which may not be in the best long term interest of Iranian people.
I see positive statements from Saudi posters, Mosamania is talking about pipelines, rail roads etc. and Tihamah wants to make Iran part of GCC. Iran should give up on this shia-supremacy idea and instead concentrate on economic issues and regional integration that will help Iranian people.
This idiotic Muslim on Muslim killing must stop, but there is no way to do that without finishing off Assad, on this I agree with Tihamah. I know his mind, he is just like Gaddafi, he will not stop till he is defeated.