BEIRUT — Hezbollah said the partition of Iraq and Syria was a possible outcome of sectarian fighting across the region and there was no prospect of any end to the war in Syria until after November’s U.S. presidential election.

Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Iran-backed group, whose forces are fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad against rebels supported by Western and regional powers, said Hezbollah, Iran and Russia would stand by Assad until the end.

In an interview with Reuters, he said recapturing Aleppo, Syria’s second major city, where a decisive battle is unfolding, remained an objective but was not an immediate goal.

Qassem said both Syria and neighboring Iraq, where ISIS has also seized territory, could split.

“On the battlefield and in view of regional and international interventions I don’t rule out that one of the ideas proposed is finding a state of partition in those two countries. But will it succeed or not?

“So far, the forces that want the unity of Iraq and Syria are able to prevent the idea of partition, but we should remain worried about … the possibility that some countries might push these two countries or one of them into partition.”

Assad was the best protection against this, Qassem said.

“With President Assad, the solution can be logical and rational in finding political parameters that can give the opposition its share and the regime its share, and there could be coordination which allows for putting things back in order and reviving authority in Syria”, the white-turbaned sheikh said.

Qassem said the United States, one of the power brokers in finding a solution to the crisis, was distracted by its November presidential elections and not ready to commit to any action until a new president takes over next year.

He said the sacrifices of Hezbollah, which has lost hundreds of fighters in Syria, were worthy, otherwise  ISIS would have taken control in Syria and expanded into Lebanon.