Over 2,100 prisoners held by Syrian authorities were freed this morning in exchange for forty-eight Iranian prisoners released by rebel forces, according to the New York Times. This prisoner exchange appears to be the largest yet in the two-year-long uprising against autocrat Bashar al-Assad.

Above all, this exchange seems most telling about the relationship between Assad and Iran. Louquay Moqdad, a Free Syrian Army spokesman, told the Washington Post, “Assad proved he is an Iranian puppet because he agreed to release over 2,000 in return for 48 Iranians. He did not care about Syrian officers which are also detained with us.” Assad on the other hand, vowed to continue fighting "as long as there is one terrorist left in Syria."

The Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief is said to have helped broker the swap.