Iran has reportedly started to withdraw troops from Syria as advancing rebel forces threaten to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to The New York Times.
Syrian insurgents took control of the central city of Hama following the retreat of government forces on Thursday, just days after rebels captured most of Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city.
Evacuations were initiated on Friday for commanders and personnel from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, according to Iranian officials and regional commanders cited in the Times report. Diplomatic staff serving at the Iranian Embassy in Damascus were also reportedly being evacuated.
“Iran is starting to evacuate its forces and military personnel because we cannot fight as an advisory and support force if Syria’s army itself does not want to fight,” Iranian analyst Mehdi Rahmati told the news outlet. “Iran has realized that it cannot manage the situation in Syria right now with any military operation and this option is off the table.”
In a report published earlier on Friday by Reuters, an unnamed senior Iranian official said that Tehran was sending more military equipment and had “taken all necessary steps to increase the number of its military advisers in Syria and deploy forces” to help Assad.
This is a developing story and will be updated as further information becomes available.
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