The head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC), Nasr Hariri, said that Iran has made eight concrete steps to strengthen its presence in Syria, including the establishment of permanent military bases and the rejection of a political solution. He described raids on Syrian territories on Wednesday night as “settling of account between two occupying powers.” “What is happening is a settling of accounts between two regional states - occupying powers - and the Syrian people is paying the price,” he stated. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat in London, Hariri said that both Iran and Israel were “occupying states”, adding: “Iran has taken eight measures to establish a foothold in Syria.” “First, blocking the political solution because it’s not in its interest... Second, naturalizing militias and controlling Syrian property; third, bringing tens of thousands of foreign militias into Syria; and imposing decision-making in institutions,” he explained. As for the four remaining measures, they include according to Hariri, establishing Iranian military bases in Syria, building arms depots and factories, holding economic contracts for strategic wealth, and inciting sectarian mobilization among the poor youth, who are exhausted by the dire economic conditions, to become ammunition for fighting. “All this has made the head of the Quds Brigade in the IRGC Qassem Soleimani a ruler in Syria,” the Syrian opposition official said. Hariri held the Syrian regime responsible for the situation in the country. “We don’t want Syria to be an arena for settling accounts between regional and global countries, because the Syrian people are paying the price with their blood, civilization, heritage and economy. This leads us to the need to reach a political solution, which will include the departure of foreign and Iranian militias, and a political transition that will guarantee Soleimani’s exit from Syria,” he said. Asked about his meeting on Wednesday with the British Foreign Secretary, Hariri noted that Boris Johnson spoke about the “brutality of the regime and the targeting of civilians.” He quoted the British official as saying that the US-French-British strikes in April were a response to the regime’s use of chemical weapons, and were not a means of interference with the military equations between Damascus and the opposition. Hariri also said that Johnson told him no military solution was possible in Syria. “The only place for a political solution is the Geneva negotiations to achieve the implementation of UN Resolution 2254,” Johnson said, according to Hariri, and that in the long term Assad cannot stay in power, and stability will not be achieved in Syria and the region with Assad’s presence. Commenting on the new mechanisms he discussed with British officials, the SNC chief said: “Discussions are underway on how to provide an international understanding to activate the peace negotiations according to the existing mechanism, namely the Geneva Declaration, and the negotiations on the four packages,” including the transitional phase, the constitution, the elections and fighting terrorism. “This needs political will. Even if new mechanisms are agreed upon, they will not work if there is no political will and no regional understanding,” he stressed. Hariri emphasized that Iran’s presence in Syria would hamper the adoption of new mechanisms, saying: “Iran should leave Syria; there’s no solution in Syria in light of the Iranian presence.”