Iranian forces have largely withdrawn from Syria following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad in December, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing US, European, and Arab officials.
Members of Iran’s Quds Force have now relocated to Iran and the militia groups have disbanded, the report said, citing a senior US official.
According to Western and Arab officials, most forces in eastern Syria—including IRGC officers and Afghan, Iraqi, Lebanese, and Syrian fighters—retreated to al-Qaim, a border town on the Iraqi side.
Some Iranian personnel based in Damascus flew to Tehran, while Hezbollah fighters in western Syria fled overland to Lebanon, they said.
As thousands of Iranian military personnel and their allies fled the country, they were forced to leave behind a significant amount of military equipment and weapons, much of which was later destroyed by Israeli airstrikes or captured by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other groups, according to Western diplomats cited by the Wall Street Journal.
The report added that US officials believe Iran will ultimately attempt to re-establish its forces across the region, though this may prove untenable in the short term.
According to a senior US official cited in the report, it is unlikely that Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which toppled the Assad's government, will permit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to renew its military presence in Syria imminently due to Iran's longstanding support for Assad.
According to the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Iran had as many as 10,000 IRGC forces in Syria at its peak during Syria's civil war, and another 5,000 army troops, plus thousands more Iranian-backed militia forces.
Their research showed that Iran held 55 military bases in Syria in addition to 515 military points.
The Saudi-owned Al Majalla news site reported similar numbers, citing that Syria had 830 foreign military sites under Assad, 70% of which belonged to Iran, 570.
