Iranian forces largely withdrew from Syria following the Assad regime’s collapse in December, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The report cited U.S., European and Arab officials who said the retreat marks a significant setback to Tehran’s strategy of projecting power through its terror proxies across the region.
Thousands of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps troops, along with pro-Tehran fighters mainly stationed in Damascus, Aleppo and eastern Syria fled the country, with many escaping to al-Qaim on the Iraqi side of the shared border with Syria, according to the report.
Barbara Leaf, the U.S. State Department’s top Middle East official, described the Iranian withdrawal as “extraordinary,” noting to the WSJ that Syria had become “very hostile terrain” for Iran. Nevertheless, she did not rule out future attempts by Tehran to re-establish a military presence there.
The collapse of the Assad regime has severely undermined Iran’s ability to support Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, the report added.
Mick Mulroy, a former Trump administration Pentagon official, told the WSJ that the development “has reduced Iran’s influence in the region and [its] ability to support and sponsor these once powerful terrorist organizations.”
Syria’s new government, led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), views Shi’ite Iran as a threat. Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new Syrian leader, stated in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that the swift defeat of Assad had “set the Iranian project in the region back by 40 years.”
Tehran is currently facing multiple challenges, including recent Israeli airstrikes that significantly damaged air defenses and missile production facilities. Growing unrest in Iran over an economic crisis, coupled with the prospect of renewed U.S. sanctions under the incoming Trump administration, are further complicating Tehran’s position.
