"Defeated Badly…” Top Iran General Admits Syria Loss, US, France ‘Could Secure’ Border With Turkey

Iran’s top-ranking general in Syria has contradicted the official line taken by Iran’s leaders on the sudden downfall of their ally Bashar al-Assad. The general is reported to have admitted during a speech last week that Iran had suffered a major defeat.
The speech given by Brig. Gen. Behrouz Esbati at a mosque in Tehran surfaced publicly earlier this week in Iranian media. Gen. Esbati’s remarks are in stark contrast to those of Iran’s president, foreign minister and other top leaders
Iranian leaders have for weeks downplayed the magnitude of Tehran’s strategic loss in Syria last month. General Esbati revealed that Iran’s relations with Assad had been strained for months leading to his ouster.
Assad had denied multiple requests for Iranian-backed militias to open a front against Israel from Syria, as per the Iranian general.
The general also accused Tehran’s top ally Russia of misleading Iran by telling it that Russian jets were bombing Syrian rebels. He also claimed that as Israel struck Iranian targets in Syria in 2024, Russia had “turned off radars,” in effect facilitating these attacks. The Iranian general also said that Tehran would still try to operate in the country.

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