Iran faces a staggering blow to its regional influence as the swift collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime reveals Tehran's limited capacity to protect its allies, leaving it scrambling for explanations, Breitbart reported.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Assad reached out to Iran for assistance after rebels began seizing key cities and advancing on Damascus. However, Iranian officials informed him that any support would be "limited in nature if it came at all."
Syrian officials stated that Iran blamed Assad for failing to prepare for the attack and cited Israeli airstrike threats as a reason for withholding reinforcements. An Iranian plane bound for Syria was reportedly diverted to avoid such strikes.
Iran's response was swift but focused on self-preservation. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militias were ordered to avoid combat, and arrangements were made for a peaceful withdrawal of Iranian personnel and fighters. By the time rebels captured Aleppo — an unexpected milestone in just four days — Iran began evacuating its forces, signaling its recognition of the inevitable collapse.
Russia, Assad's other major backer, adopted a similar stance. With its military resources stretched thin by conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, Moscow refrained from a significant intervention, limiting its involvement to a few ineffective airstrikes.
The toppling of Assad, which ended 50 years of his family's rule, highlighted the structural weaknesses within Syria's military. Years of corruption, economic turmoil, and declining recruitment had left the army hollowed out and unprepared for the rapid rebel advance. Following the fall of Homs, other insurgent groups joined the assault on Damascus, prompting Assad to vanish from public view.
Hossein Akbari, Iran's ambassador to Syria, acknowledged the inevitability of Damascus' fall in a televised interview. He praised Assad and the Syrian military for opting to "transfer power peacefully" and criticized the attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus as a violation of international law.
The loss of Syria delivers a severe strategic blow to Tehran. Iran's long-standing alliance with the Assad regime was a cornerstone of its "Axis of Resistance" against Israel. With the pipeline of weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon now severed, analysts warn that Tehran's influence across the region has been fundamentally compromised.
Jonathan Piron, an Iran expert at the Etopia research center, described the situation as unprecedented. "Iran finds itself in a position of weakness — its security perimeter is now restricted to its actual borders," he told France 24.
Reuven Azar, Israel's ambassador to India, remarked that the rapid unraveling of Iran's influence was a result of overextension. "The tentacles of the Iranian regime have all been cut," he told NDTV.
"Rebel forces in the region, which have been following all that and seeing the debilitation of the Iran axis, took full advantage of it. And that is how you see the change in Syria," Azar said.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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