When the Islamist rebel group “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS) seized power in Damascus on December 8, thousands of pro-Iranian fighters were still in Syria – some in the east of the country, some in the capital.
Later, the main pro-Iranian forces, including officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, moved to the Iraqi city of El Qaim, which is located on the border with Syria.
Iranian soldiers and their allies left many weapons in Syria as they retreated, Western diplomats say.
Some of the former Iranian armaments were destroyed by Israeli strikes, some of them ended up in the possession of HTS.
Syria has now become “hostile territory” for Iran, said Barbara Leaf, US assistant secretary of state for Middle East affairs.
With the disappearance of pro-Iranian forces from Syria, “Iran’s regional ambitions have been set back 40 years,” HTS leader and head of the new Syrian administration Ahmad al-Sharaa said back in December.
Iran’s withdrawal from Syria will serve the interests of the region’s development, the HTS leader said.
Syria played an important role in Iran’s strategy, the “Wall Street Journal” recalls.
Tehran sent weapons to the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah through Syrian territory, and Iran was able to deploy its armed forces near Israeli territory.
The US remains concerned that Tehran may try to use its old levers to influence the course of the new Syrian leadership, especially since the situation in Syria cannot yet be called stable.