An Iranian military plane was reportedly forced to turn back over Syria to avoid being targeted on the ground by Israeli jets
Iran could not supply former Syrian President Bashar Assad with military aid due to the threat of Israeli airstrikes on its transport planes, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) jihadists and other armed opposition groups stormed Damascus on Saturday, seizing power less than two weeks after launching a surprise offensive from the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo. While Russian forces initially carried out airstrikes against the advancing militants, the Syrian Army stood down as they approached Damascus, and the foreign ministry in Moscow said on Sunday that Assad had already agreed to peacefully relinquish power by the time they reached the capital.
Iran, which along with Russia helped Assad retake much of the country during the Syrian Civil War, told the ex-president that “help for his regime would be limited in nature, if it came at all,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing anonymous “Syrian officials.”
According to these sources, Tehran blamed Assad for failing to adequately prepare for the assault, and told him that it would not be possible to send military reinforcements because of Israel. According to the anonymous officials, an Iranian military plane bound for Syria was forced to turn back last week because of the threat of Israeli airstrikes.
At the time, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was saying that Tehran would consider an open military intervention in Syria should Damascus request it.
With Assad and his family granted asylum in Moscow and his opponents in power, both the US and Israel have attempted to claim credit for his downfall. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Assad’s ouster was the “direct result” of Israel’s war on Lebanese Hezbollah militants and strikes on Iran, which hampered their ability to reinforce the Syrian Army.
In an address later that day, US President Joe Biden claimed that American military aid to Israel, coupled with sanctions on Tehran and Damascus and the occupation of Syria’s oil fields by US troops “shifted the balance of power in the Middle East” and provided “new opportunities” for the Syrian opposition.
Russia and Iran have both called on the Syrian opposition to form a government that serves the needs of all parts of Syrian society, and to respect UN Security Council Resolution 2254. Passed in 2015, this resolution calls for a peaceful end to the Syrian Civil War, free elections, and a new constitution. Moscow and Tehran have also said that they will maintain relations with Damascus.
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