Syrian businessman and opposition figure, Muhiiddin Haboosh, claimed the fall of the regime would come economically rather than militarily, especially in light of the stifling economic crisis in Iran.
"There is no doubt the Syrian crisis had a negative impact on the Syrian economy, which is about to collapse. The financial and economic policies of the regime have consumed the economy of Syria in its war against its own people demanding freedom”, Haboosh told All4Syria.
According to Haboosh, the regime “ignored the requirements of the economic cycle necessary for the country and the citizen, which led to a rapid collapse of the value of Syrian pound".
He added that the Syrian pound has lost 400% of its value against the dollar, despite the regime's attempts to reduce its collapse.
"The regime has consumed most of Syria's reserves of foreign currency, which was about 17 billion dollars the beginning of the revolution in 2011. Today, it is completely drained and tackles 6 billion dollars of Iranian loans, which deepens the regime's dependency on Iran.
Haboosh explained how the “reckless economic policies of the regime have led to a very large decline in the national production of food, especially that millions of displaced Syrians are out of the production field. Unemployment rates rose to nearly 35%, and the state has lost control over most of the Syrian oil fields".
"It is enough to know that Assad's known wealth is about 22 billion dollars, to know the fate of the economy of a country ruled by a family of thieves. The economic situation of Syria becomes more and more similar to the Lebanese situation, as the dollar is now the actual dominant currency, while the Syrian currency turned into a calculation currency. The regime cannot continue with these cash reserves and what is happening is a desperate attempt at the resuscitation of Syria’s economy", Haboosh added.
Haboosh believes most merchants have left Syria, and those who stayed there are “agents for the regime and its shabeeha, who dominate the resources and sectors of the country more than ever before, even down to the prostitution industry".
Haboosh confirmed that the Iranian credit line has been fully exhausted through funding requests, submitted by public institutions and companies through the Syrian Commercial Bank. He believes it is likely Iran will soon stop providing credit facilities to the regime because of Iran's current economic situation, where the expectation of loans will lead to higher inflation and a gradual collapse of the economy, falling to 500 liras to the dollar in the next three months.
