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Iran evacuates personnel in Syria as rebels further advance.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also traveled to the Syrian capital this week to meet with Assad to pledge the Islamic Republic’s full support.
The officials said that within the Quds Force, two of their top generals fled to Iraq. This move comes as rebels who oppose Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad have been seizing cities that are a threat to his rule.
The NYT report also noted the evacuation of diplomatic staff of the Islamic Republic, their families, and Iranian civilians from the country as well. They began to leave war-torn Syria the morning of the Times report’s publication, ordered by their embassy in the capital of Damascus.
Not all evacuees were heading toward Lebanon or Iraq, as evacuations had also been carried out by planes to Tehran, while others were heading to the Syrian port of Latakia, the Times cited officials as saying.
Is Syria a lost cause for Iran?
The report also cited prominent Iranian analyst Mehdi Rahmati, who claimed that Syria’s army doesn’t want to fight, and that the Islamic Republic doesn’t want to fight as “advisory and support” despite their previous backing and military support to Assad. He also said that Syria is unmanageable for the Islamic Republic – even through military operations. Iran has used Syria as a route to supply weapons to Hezbollah in the country’s west.
Rahmati statements came despite Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi trip to the Syrian capital this week to meet with Assad to pledge the Islamic Republic’s full support.
(jpost)