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Iran begins evacuating military and civilians from Syria amid rebel advances.
On Friday morning, Iran began evacuating its military commanders and personnel from Syria, signaling its inability to sustain President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the face of a renewed rebel offensive, The New York Times reports.
Among those evacuated to neighboring Iraq and Lebanon were senior commanders of the Quds Force, the external branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to officials.
This development marks a significant shift for Assad, whose government has relied on Iranian support throughout Syria’s 13-year civil war, and for Iran, which has used Syria as a critical route for supplying weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iranian officials, including two IRGC members, stated that some Iranian diplomats, their families, and civilians were also evacuated from Syria. The evacuation was announced at Iran’s embassy in Damascus and IRGC bases. At least part of the embassy staff has already departed.
Meanwhile, Syrian rebels claimed control of the southern city of Daraa, toppling a statue of former President Hafez al-Assad, the father of Bashar al-Assad.
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