Egypt Daily News – US officials have said that, “The Iranian security that was defending Assad has almost completely withdrawn from Syria, and we expect Damascus to fall into the hands of the Syrian opposition.”
The New York Times revealed in a report published on Saturday that the Iranian government began withdrawing its unites and field commanders from Syria since yesterday evening, Friday, stressing that the internal memos issued by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard made clear “Iran’s acceptance of the fait accompli and its cessation of resistance as a result of the strange and unreasonable situation,” as she described it.
The New York Times said, “Iran was making official promises to support Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the beginning of the week, especially through its Foreign Minister Abbas Araqji, but its tone changed as the militants approached the Syrian capital, Damascus,” stressing that “Araqji stated that Assad’s fate is now in the hands of God.”
It also confirmed that “official media discourses in Iran have moved from describing the Syrian opposition organizations as ‘terrorists to armed groups’ in reference to a change in Tehran’s position on the situation and its move toward a post-Assad era,” as it described it.
The New York Times also noted that “three high-ranking Iranian officials told it that what is known as the Front for the Liberation of Al-Sham sent a special diplomatic envoy to Tehran, who presented the armed organization’s pledges to the Iranian government to preserve the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab in Syria and not to harm the holy sites.”, noting that the discussions that took place between the two parties and the assurances provided by Tahrir al-Sham led to Iran taking a decision to withdraw the remainder of its combat forces” in Syria.
