Iran Blames US, Israel, Türkiye for Collapse of Syrian Government

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has accused the US and Israel, as well as Türkiye indirectly, of seeking a military presence in Syria, and blamed them for the downfall of Bashar al-Assad's government.

"It is beyond doubt that what happened in Syria was the product of a joint American-Zionist plan," Khamenei said to a gathering in Tehran on December 11, IRNA News Agency reported.

"A neighboring state of Syria played a clear role in this matter and continues to do so now. Everyone sees that," he stated, apparently referring to Türkiye's actions in northern Syria. "But the main perpetrator, the main conspirator, the main plotter and the main command center is in America and the Zionist regime. We have evidence. The evidence does not leave room for doubt," he added.

Khamenei underlined that Iran only had an "advisory" presence in Syria and added that the senior Iranian commanders were ready to go to Syria to help Assad, but the US and Israel had shut down air and land routes.

On December 12, Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Maj Gen Hossein Salami reiterated remarks by the Iranian Supreme Leader. He added that the Iranian troops were not meant to fight instead of the Syrian army. It was not "logical" to send troops to fight in another country, when that country's army remained a "spectator", the IRGC chief added.

The Assad government collapsed during the night of December 7-8, following the rapid seizure of various parts of Syria by different armed groups led by the Idlib-based militant Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The HTS launched a wide-scale offensive called "Operation Repelling the Aggression" against government forces in Aleppo, with the aim of "liberating territory", together with a coalition of rebel groups in northern Syria.

Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow with his family after Russia, a longtime protector of the Assad regime, granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds. A deal is in place to ensure the safety of Russian military bases in Syria.

The Islamist-led rebels and Syrians rejoiced at the sudden end to the 13-year-old Civil War.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said his country will support Syria's neighbors through the period of transition and will assess the words and actions of rebel groups.

The US Central Command said its forces conducted dozens of airstrikes on Islamic State targets in central Syria on December 8, in order to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State militant group in the war-torn country.

Referring to the Israeli prime minister’s announcement, who said that the country's military has temporarily seized control of the demilitarized UN-patrolled zone in the Golan region following the rebel takeover of Syria, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on regional countries to mobilize to stop "Israel's aggression and the destruction of Syria".

In his meeting with Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat in Tehran on December 11, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian refrained from directly criticizing Türkiye, and called for Muslim nations to address their differences "in a brotherly manner" and take "practical steps rather than merely relying on words" to enhance the collective strength of the Islamic world.

Following Assad's downfall, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the regime’s fall and pledged his country’s support for Syria's transition.

Ankara officially classified HTS as a terrorist group in 2018 and backed the opposition Syrian National Army (SNA), in Syria's north. The number of Syrian refugees in Türkiye is currently estimated at 3.2 million.

Iran and Syria had maintained strong military and security ties, which had deepened since the 2010s. In July 2020, Iran and Syria signed a comprehensive agreement to enhance military and defense cooperation. Iranian forces operating in Syria since the start of the Civil War had frequently been targeted by Israeli strikes.

Tehran had also sought to integrate its proxies, mainly the Hezbollah movement, into the Syrian army, aiming to secure long-term influence in Syria’s military and security structures. However, Iran denied maintaining a military presence in Syria, referring to its troops as “military advisers.”