Due to Turkish support for the opposition, the Assad regime has a negative opinion on Turkey. There has been numerous military clashes and confrontation between Syria and Turkey, which damaged relations.[85] Bashar al-Assad is also an ally of Iran due to common Shi'a belief, and has supported Iran in many affairs in response to Iran's backup for the Syrian regime, notably during 2020 Karabakh conflict when Assad accused Turkey of inflaming war.[86][87][88]