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Behrouz Esbati, an Iranian normal, partially blamed Russia for the autumn of Bashar Assad in Syria.
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In a speech in Tehran, Esbati accused Russia of bombing an empty desert as a substitute of hitting Syrian rebels.
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Whereas troublesome to confirm, his frank remarks are notable since Russia is one in all Iran’s strongest allies.
A high Iranian normal has accused Russia of mendacity to Tehran by saying its jets had been attacking Syrian rebels whereas they had been as a substitute bombing the open desert.
In a uncommon break from Iran‘s diplomatic line on Syria, Brig. Gen. Behrouz Esbati partially blamed Moscow for the autumn of Bashar Assad’s authorities throughout a speech at a mosque in Tehran.
An audio recording of the speech was printed on Tuesday by Abdullah Abdi, a Geneva-based journalist who experiences on Iran.
“We had been defeated, and defeated very badly, we took a really huge blow and it has been very troublesome,” Esbati mentioned of Assad’s fall, per a translation by The New York Times.
Within the recording, Esbati, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, mentioned Russia informed Tehran it was bombing the headquarters of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the insurgent group spearheading Assad’s ousting.
However Moscow’s forces had been as a substitute “concentrating on deserts,” Esbati mentioned.
Esbati additional accused Russia of turning off radars when Israel launched strikes on Syria in 2024, permitting Tel Aviv’s forces to assault extra successfully.
The final additionally largely blamed inner corruption for Assad’s fall, saying that bribery was rife amongst Syria’s top-ranking officers and generals.
He added that relations between Damascus and Tehran grew tense over the past 12 months as a result of Assad refused an Iranian request to facilitate assaults on Israel via Syria.
Enterprise Insider couldn’t independently confirm Esbati’s claims. However they signify an exceptionally frank evaluation amongst Iran’s high ranks of its place in Syria, the place a brand new political management continues to be coalescing in Assad’s absence.
Iran officially held a much milder tone as Assad’s authorities fell, saying on the time that the destiny of Syria could be as much as its folks and that it “will spare no effort to assist set up safety and stability in Syria.”
Assad, a longtime ally of each Iran and Russia, fled Damascus in early December as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces stormed towards the capital from the northwest. Worldwide observers imagine that the insurgent advance largely occurred as Moscow, a key supply of army power for Assad, discovered its sources stretched skinny by the warfare in Ukraine.
The Russian Protection Ministry didn’t reply to a request for remark despatched outdoors common enterprise hours by Enterprise Insider.
Esbati’s remarks got here as a former senior aide to Assad informed the Saudi government-owned outlet Al Arabiya on Monday that Russian chief Vladimir Putin had stalled military assistance for Syria.
Kamel Saqr mentioned that Assad had requested Putin to personally approve airlifting army assist to Syria — and that the Russian chief agreed.
The help was to be transported through Iranian plane, however Saqr mentioned that Tehran informed Assad it didn’t obtain any requests from Moscow.
Assad then requested Moscow about this, however “no reply got here,” Saqr mentioned.
Assad’s fall, which neither Moscow nor Tehran stepped as much as stop, has introduced deep implications for Russia’s forces within the area. Moscow had beforehand relied on an airbase and a naval base, which it maintained underneath a cope with Assad, for its operations in Africa and the Mediterranean.
It is unclear if Russia will ultimately be capable of proceed sustaining these two amenities, however experiences present that it is making ready to maneuver a lot of its equipment out of Syria. On January 3, Ukraine mentioned that Moscow was planning to move its assets to Libya.
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